Undercover
by beatrice65
Summary: For the Cupcakes. Joe and Terri Gilman are going on an undercover operation shortly after Joe marries Stephanie.
1. Chapter 1

Undercover

I was doing deep breathing techniques while my sister, Valerie, and my best friend, Mary Lou, were dancing around my living room. Joe and I had just returned from a wonderful two-week honeymoon in Jamaica six weeks ago. I was getting back into the swing of catching fugitives from justice – those people who my cousin Vinnie had posted bond for so they could get their sorry butts out of jail, only to thank him by failing to appear at court at their scheduled time.

And, now, I was looking at the irrefutable evidence that I was pregnant, an EPT test. "Oh, how could this happen to me?" I whined.

They both stopped dancing and looked at me like I was a moron. "Well, I mean, I know HOW. Why now?" I was frantic. This was not part of my plan at least not right away.

"Stephanie, why NOT now?" Valerie asked. "You're married. You're married to a wonderful guy who adores your every move, mostly. He's handsome. He's responsible. He will be thrilled. You are 34 years old, for God's sake. When did you think you were going to have children if not now?"

"Children?" I shrieked. "This is one. Singular. That's it." I'm not sure I can raise a hamster, let alone 'children'.

We could hear Joe pulling his Ducati up near the back door. Valerie and Mary Lou started giggling. "Can we stay?" Mary Lou asked. "I want to see Officer Hottie's face when you tell him he's going to be a Daddy."

"NO. Get out of here." I was pushing them toward the door. "I'm not even sure I'm going to tell him. Maybe I'll just move to the other bedroom when I start to show and he won't notice." I needed time to think about this.

Mary Lou bolted back into the living room to retrieve her purse, while Val went back to get Lisa, my 14 month old niece who was sleeping on the floor. I'm glad she remembered the baby. I didn't want any practice.

"Hey, Cupcake." Joe said as he walked into the living room. "Hi, Valerie, Mary Lou. What's new?"

The two morons just stood there with stupid grins on their faces. "Nothing. At all. Nothing is new." I stammered, again trying to usher them out the front door.

"Joe, can you take Bob for a walk? We've been busy and I think he needs to go." Maybe if I get him out of here I can have a minute to think.

"Sure. Are you sure everything's okay? You look sort of pale." He said.

"Awww. That is so sweet." Mary Lou gushed. "I could have been dead for 3 days and Lenny wouldn't notice that I looked pale. Isn't that sweet?" She elbowed me. I shot her a death glare.

Joe put Bob's leash on and they took off out the front door.

"What was that?" If I'd have had a gun handy, I may have shot Mary Lou. "You guys get out of here. I need time to think."

Valerie's parting comments were something along the lines of my needing to consider naming the baby Frank, after my dad, if it was a boy. She reminded me that she'd only had girls. Like I didn't know that.

For dinner, Joe cooked spaghetti. He's better in the kitchen than he had let on before we got married. I'm not. I intended to learn to cook someday, but right now I was concentrating on learning to share a bathroom without bloodshed. We did okay as long as he wasn't there when I was trying to do my hair or makeup. He made fun of the silly faces I made and early in the morning that didn't go over well. I had been trying my hardest to get up and around early so that I could be done working reasonably close to the time he was so we could spend some time together.

I was seriously considering chasing a skip tonight just to get away from him for a few hours.

"Why aren't you eating? Don't you like it? I think I make pretty good spaghetti." He was smiling that nice smile. I couldn't really tell if it included his eyes because his hair was hanging in his face. He always let it grow long but this was ridiculous. The part at the front could seriously touch his nose. It had been sexy in Jamaica, but come on. Get a haircut. I'd told myself that I was not his mother and I was not going to be a nagging wife, so I hadn't said anything. I was going to have to do something soon. My mother had told me to wait until he was asleep and cut it myself.

I reached over and brushed the hair out of his eyes. "Yeah. You're a great cook. I just don't feel really hungry."

"Fair enough," Joe said. He wasn't really eating either. I could see the muscles in his jaw clenching and releasing.

"Did you have a bad day? You seem sort of … tense or something." I mumbled, forcing myself to take a bite. I really wanted to grab the glass of red wine he'd served me and down it in one chug, but I knew I shouldn't drink since I was pregnant.

"Well, no, I really had a great day. There's just something I need to talk to you about. I don't know how you're going to feel about it." He said, looking at me with a shake of his head to again clear his line of sight.

He had my attention now. Joe never got nervous about talking. That was my job. I put down my fork. He did the same.

He pushed his chair back from the table and said, "Let's go in the living room and talk for a few minutes. I'll heat your dinner back up if you decide you are hungry later." We both knew that if we left it out on the table that Bob would eat it before we got back to it. That was okay.

He raked his fingers through his hair before he started to talk and I caught a glimpse of his wedding ring. It was gold and shiny and a symbol that this great looking guy was married to me. I guess my hormones were already getting out of whack because I wanted to cry just thinking about him and how much I loved him.

After we got settled in on the sofa, Joe started, "Steph, I think you know that one of my good friends in high school was named Tommy Takata. Remember him?" I nodded. "Well, you know, most of my buddies from that period are either in jail or are dead. We weren't exactly on the prom committee, you know." He was smiling. I smiled back at him. "Remember Jeri Stapleton? I think she was in your class." He didn't wait for a response. "She was murdered about 10 years ago and it has remained unsolved. I feel so damn bad for her family. We've known for some time that it had something to do with small time organized crime. It seems that Terri Gilman is ready to help us with some details from her family members in return for some protection and some help in getting some information she needs about another crime family."

I felt my backbone stiffen up when he mentioned Gilman. He and Terri had been linked on and off for years, first romantically and then professionally, him wearing the white hat and her wearing the black one. I hated that I was so jealous of her. It was silly. Joe couldn't (no, wouldn't) ever do anything to hurt me on purpose. He was trustworthy, and he'd proven that to me over and over. That was something I couldn't even say for myself.

He continued, "Apparently Tommy Takata is either at the head of, or close to the head of, this other family, the one we think did Jeri in. Terri has asked me to help her get the information. Here's the part you aren't going to like." What? I thought him saying Gilman's name was the part I wasn't going to like. Now every muscle in my body was straining to hear the next words.

"I've been approved to go undercover with her in Detroit." Did he say undercover or under THE covers?

"We figure it will take about 4 - 6 months from start to finish and I'll need to be there the whole time. Tommy knows I'm a cop. We're fabricating a story to put out about me having a serious drug habit and getting fired. I figure if I hang around and look dopey enough for a while, Tommy will believe me. With this hair I think I can hide a lot of emotion." He chuckled. Okay, so he knew it was too long, he was getting ready to play a part. I was married to an actor now. Well, he had the looks for it.

"The second part of the story will be that I ran away with Gilman and we'll be living together. We figure the crime family will bug the slum we move into immediately since Terri has such a high profile with the Grizolli family here in Trenton. That means we'll have to look and act like a couple." He was holding my hand and looking into my face pretty intently at this point. Trying to read my emotion. I didn't have a cop face like Joe. My emotion was easy enough to read. I was freaking furious.

"What? You are leaving me after two months of marriage to go play house with Terri freaking Gilman?" I was off the sofa and screaming at the top of my lungs. He sat back, cop face on, arms folded, and waited for my batteries to run down. "I can't believe you are even considering it. How long have you known about this?"

"Just got it approved today." Joe said, clenching his teeth.

"You are telling me that you have been working on this and you didn't tell me? Don't you think I need to know if you are planning to take a hike?" I felt a tear slip down my cheek. This isn't at all what I expected. Six months with no contact with him. I'd be big as a house when he came back. If he came back.

"Isn't this dangerous?" I continued. "I thought you made it clear to me that your job wasn't dangerous. You are an investigator." I was sweeping the tears off of my face because they were really flowing now.

"Cupcake," he said, as he took me into his arms very gently – I think he was just trying to be ready in case I tried to smack him. "I don't want to leave you. If there was any other way I wouldn't do it. This homicide has been unsolved for 10 years and these are pretty bad guys. We need to get them off the street. Gilman needs to stop them from moving into her family's turf. We don't want them in Trenton. Tommy will believe the story that I have a drug habit and that Gilman and I are together. There's really no one else that can do this. Think about Jeri Stapleton's family."

"Think about OUR family, Joe." I was losing it. Not exactly how I'd intended to tell him, but here goes. "Yeah. OUR family. You swoop in, knock me up, and then head for greener pastures. My mother will die of embarrassment. Oh, and your mother will kill you."

His eyes were huge. He was speechless and frozen in place. Let's see how he handles this little turn of events, I thought to myself.

"Shit, Stephanie. Warn a guy or something." He was still sort of staring at me. He pulled me over by my wrist to sit on the sofa again. "Are you sure?" He swallowed big. "When did you find out?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I found out today." I was in that ugly, hiccuppy stage of crying. I knew I had snot and tears all over my face and hands. Probably not at my most appealing.

"This is great!" He was on his feet. "Oh, shit." He was sitting down again.

"I'll have to find someone else to go with Terri. I don't even want to miss one day of this." He was laughing at me. Idiot. This is his entire fault and he was laughing at me. I'd forgotten to pack my birth control pills on the honeymoon and he had told me not to worry about it. We'd gotten some condoms the second day, but I guess the horse was out of the barn by then so to speak. "Stop laughing!" I said and I whacked him in the arm.

"I'm not laughing, I'm thrilled. I just can't contain myself. I can't wait to tell everybody." He was heading for the door. "Come on. Let's go see your folks."

"No! Are you crazy? You are getting ready to have a drug habit and get fired and all. I'd just as soon not broadcast this bit of news all over town before you do." I wasn't going anywhere the way I was looking, either.

"Honey, I'm not going to go through with the operation now. No way. I can't do that to you. Not if you're pregnant." He was looking at me like I was crazy.

I was looking at him like he was equally crazy. "Joe, you are a great vice and homicide detective. You have a chance to bring down a crime family and solve a 10 year old murder." And sleep with Terri freaking Gilman while your whale of a wife is puking her guts up and gaining weight. "That's not an opportunity you can pass up. And you got it approved, which I know is no small feat."

He was looking striken. I knew he wanted to be in both places at once.

"Can't you check into 'rehab' periodically, or get arrested or something so I can at least talk to you once in a while?" I was crying again.

"We'll figure it out. Don't worry about it right now. Let's take Bob for a walk. We need to clear our heads. Cupcake, you have no idea how happy I am about the baby."

"The baby." I repeated. Shit, I was going to have a baby.


	2. Chapter 2

"_We'll figure it out." Don't worry about it right now. Let's take Bob for a walk. We need to clear our heads. Cupcake, you have no idea how happy I am about the baby."_

"_The baby." I repeated. Shit, I was going to have a baby._

Undercover – Chapter 2

We went for a long walk with Bob. Bob seemed unaffected by the news that we were going to be having a baby, oh, yeah, and the news that Morelli was leaving us for 6 months or so.

I was feeling really sorry for myself. I didn't even think I was excited about having a baby at all and now I was probably going to have to go through most of the pregnancy all alone. Morelli and I were still getting used to being married. This isn't fair. I wanted a recount or something.

Morelli and both kept our thoughts to ourselves on the walk. He never let go of my hand. I knew he was clinging to me and that he was also facing an internal battle. He'd wanted to get married and start a family for years. He was also a good cop and he really wanted to go on this undercover operation for a hundred reasons.

As we neared the house, Bob pulled his leash out of Morelli's hand and ran headlong to our yard. He ran to the front door and turned to see what was taking us so long. "Bob's hungry again." Morelli said. "I guess he never gets enough."

As he was unlocking the front door, Joe looked at me and kissed my temple. He pulled me into him for a hug. I could feel the contrast of the cool evening air against the warm heat of his body. I couldn't get enough of him. "When are you supposed to leave?" I asked.

"Day after tomorrow." He looked in my eyes. His eyes conveyed love and concern. "I won't go at all if you tell me not to and I'm going to have to be convinced that you and I can stay in contact if we're going to make it work. I already know we're going to have to postpone. I need to make some calls." We went inside and I flipped the TV on. He kissed me and said, "I love you." Then he went upstairs to his home office that was set up in the 3rd bedroom. I listened until I heard him ask for his boss. He closed the door and I couldn't hear anymore.

I guess I was more tired than I realized because the next thing I knew, Joe was carrying me up to bed. I wrapped my arms around his neck and started kissing and biting him gently on the neck. He hates hickies and I know if he had to go to work with one, he'd die, so just for fun I thought I'd try to give him one. He was laughing, and trying to pull away from me as we rounded the corner to our bedroom. He tossed me to the bed from just inside the doorway like he had done 100 times before and then he got this look of horror on his face. "Oh, geez, Cupcake, I forgot you were pregnant. I didn't hurt you, did I?" I sat up and laughed and explained that I was pretty sure that a woman's body was built to be a pretty good incubator and that I was fine.

His cell phone rang. "Terri Gilman," he said, looking at the screen. "Morgan must have called her and she's freaking out because I asked for an extra week to get ready and work out some details." Morgan is Joe's boss. He hit the button to send her to voicemail and then the button to turn his cell phone off. Just as he lay down next to me, the house telephone rang. "Fuck." He started going from phone to phone turning the ringers off in the house.

When he returned he said, "That's better," he said. Joe started unbuttoning my shirt. "So, I hear that these babies are going to swell up like balloons." He had a big grin on his face.

"You are such a guy." I laughed. "I'm going to try to get a Doctor's appointment tomorrow. If I can get in before you leave town, will you come with me?"

"I wouldn't miss it, Cupcake." He put his mouth on mine and kissed me deeply. He had his hands in my hair and his hard thighs pressed into mine. We quickly went to work undressing each other. I marveled at how his muscles rippled under his taut skin. He was gorgeous. I heard my cell phone ring somewhere downstairs. "Let it ring," he said as he continued to explore my lips and mouth with urgency.

At that moment I remembered a story I had heard about how some guys didn't want to make love to their wives anymore after they were pregnant because, in the man's mind, the woman had become someone's mother. I think I was worrying needlessly since Joe was suckling my right breast, rolling my left nipple between his left thumb and forefinger and exploring between my legs with his right hand. He didn't seem to have changed how he felt about me since this morning.

I had more questions and so many more things I wanted to talk to him about but I decided to go with the flow and join the party. I threw my left leg over his body and rolled onto the top of him. "Hey, officer. I'm in charge tonight." He smiled sort of a lazy smile and put his hands behind his head.

"You're the boss," he said in a sexy, deep voice.

Just as I had left a trail of kisses down his body, and wrapped my hand around him, causing him to draw in a quick breath, the freaking doorbell rang. "Crap," we said in stereo.

"Everybody is out to get us." He said and I climbed off of him and went to the window in our bedroom. "No, the only one out to get us is Terri Gilman." I was furious. I threw open the window and before he could even get to me, I had my head and boobs hanging out the window yelling at Terri. "I'm trying to have sex with my HUSBAND, you skank, get out of here!" Joe was pulling me back inside.

"Now, Honey, we don't want this to be in the newspaper. Just calm down. I'll go down and tell her I'll meet with her tomorrow." He stuck his head out the window. "Terri, wait up, I'll be down in a minute." He pulled on some sweats and went downstairs. By the time he got outside, half of the neighbors were watching, no doubt because they had heard me screaming at Terri. He stood out there, barefoot, no shirt, bed hair, sweats riding dangerously low on his sexy hips talking to Terri for a good 10 minutes. I could hear her questioning him. He wasn't giving any information away and was wearing his cop face. He noticed her looking up at the window again where I was standing keeping watch (I had at least put on a robe). He gave me a 'move away from the window' gesture and I knew he meant it. So I went down to the front door and stood watch there. He walked her to her car, opened her driver's side door for her and talked to her for a couple of more minutes before closing the door before she roared away.

"You don't look like drug addict." I said, following him up the stairs.

"What?"

"You look too good to be a drug addict. Aren't they supposed to be emaciated and icky looking? You look too good. No one is going to believe you have a drug problem."

"I'll look the part, don't worry." He climbed into bed next to me. "Cupcake, This has been a big day and I'm exhausted. Can we just go to sleep and continue this…. Whatever it is we are doing… tomorrow?" He rolled his back to me.

Crap. He doesn't want to have sex. Morelli always wants to have sex. This is Terri Gilman's fault. I hate her. First she flirts with him all the time. Then she convinces him to do this stupid undercover thing with her and times it so that we can't even enjoy our little bit of married bliss before baby makes three and NOW she ruined my sex life, at least for tonight.

I hope she gets food poisoning and ends up in the bathroom for the first month they are in Detroit. Better yet, I hope she gets some sort of disease and gains like 90 pounds while they are there. Oops, no, that will be me….a baby isn't a disease, but it sure doesn't seem to be doing much for my love life either.

I didn't sleep at all that night, or at least it seemed like it to me. My thoughts drifted between:

being pregnant (starting to feel better about it now) –

to being pregnant and alone (not feeling better at all) –

to how I got pregnant (a very pleasant memory) –

to Joe (VERY warm feelings) –

to Joe leaving –

to what we were going to have to tell our families about Joe leaving –

to what our families were going to think about my being pregnant -

to Terri Gilman (grrr) –

to Terri Gilman and my husband living as a couple in Detroit (double grrr) –

to the crime family they were taking down –

to the unsolved murder and the poor dead woman's family –

to the danger I knew Joe would be in (this one was really eye opening) –

to knowing how stupid I must have looked when I was yelling at Terri earlier tonight with my boobs hanging out the window.

When Joe's alarm clock went off, I snuggled up to his back. I tried his technique but I didn't have anything hard I could jam into his kidneys, so I just reached around the front and helped myself. He rolled over and looked at me with a quizzical look on his face. "Good morning, Sweetheart. What's up?"

I laughed and said, "Well, nothing yet, but you're getting there."


	3. Chapter 3

Undercover Chapter 3

The caller ID on my cell phone said that it was my mother who was calling. I glanced around and made sure there was no sign of the pervert I was trying to track down. No such luck. "Hi, Mom. How are you?" I said.

"Stephanie, what is this I am hearing about you and Joseph standing naked in your front yard and arguing? Couldn't you even put on a robe?"

"Mom, that's not exactly what happened. I was yelling out the window at Terri Gilman and Joe went down to talk to her."

"Naked?"

"I was naked when I was yelling. Joe was sort of dressed when he went outside to talk to her. It's a long story."

"Why don't you and Joseph come to dinner tonight and explain it to me. We haven't seen much of you since you got home from your honeymoon and we have wedding pictures for you to look at." She said.

"I'll come. I don't know about Joe. He's been pretty busy." I still wasn't sure what the plan was and didn't want to commit him to doing anything without talking to him.

"No, you are married now. You and Joseph need to eat dinner together. Every night. That's what married people do. Find out if he can come and then let me know."

"Are you saying that if he can't come that I'm not invited?" I couldn't believe this.

"Yes. You need to eat with your husband." She insisted.

I said goodbye and disconnected. Still no sign of my perp so I dialed Joe's cell phone.

"Hey, Cupcake. How are you feeling?" He's so considerate.

"I'm fine. Do you think we can have dinner with my folks tonight?"

"That sounds great. I don't want to tell anyone else our news until we tell our parents." I could tell he was bursting with pride over the baby. "Maybe if we get done there early enough we can go by my Mom's house and tell her tonight, too. I don't want to think about what would happen to us if she or Grandma Bella heard it at the bakery or something." He chuckled.

"I have to warn you, the grapevine is alive and well. My mother heard that something happened at our house last night in the front yard."

"Yeah, I've caught hell about it all day at work, too. Everyone is teasing me about you getting jealous over Gilman and cutting my nuts off." It could happen, I thought, I am hormonal now. "However, I have been thinking about it. If we continue with the undercover operation it could just lend credence to the story that I ran away with Terri. We have witnesses that you were ticked and that she was at our house last night." And that you were almost naked while talking to her in our front yard.

"What do you mean 'if'? I thought we'd decided that you need to do it." I said.

Joe responded, "I'm not sure I can leave you. It was going to be hard enough before but the pregnancy changes everything. Where are you? Can I take you to lunch and we can talk?"

"I'm hanging around outside the Wagon Room on Stark Street, waiting for some creep to come get his morning jollies. Yeah, let's go eat. I'm hungry."

"How about Sam's Burger joint? It's halfway between where you are and where I am."

"Okay. See you there in 10. I love you, Joe."

"Love you, Cupcake."

Joe looked so damn sexy when he got off of the Duc at Sam's. He was wearing jeans and a Trenton PD t-shirt. His gun was visible and he had his incredible air of confidence on display. He moved to my side and eased me into the darkened dining room with his hand on the small of my back.

Sam's is a great place for greasy burgers and fries. It is a little shack of a joint where decades of grease hangs in the air. Let's just say that if you drop your napkin on the floor, you do not retrieve it. You just get another one. Same thing for your purse. If it falls off your lap, just leave it. You don't want it anymore. But OOH the food is great.

I ordered a chili-cheeseburger and a chocolate shake. Joe had been on a chicken binge lately, so he was having a chicken sandwich and a Coke. We shared a huge plate full of greasy fries.

"So," I said between bites. "What can we tell our families about what's going to happen?"

"Well, assuming I go, which I am not convinced I will yet, we will tell my Mom and your Mom and Dad the truth. Everyone else will have to stay in the dark."

"What about Grandma Mazur? She might put out a contract on you if you leave me and run away with Gilman." I smiled at him.

"Neither of our Grandmothers can keep a secret. The same goes for Mary Lou, Valerie, or any of the rest of my family. It's just not advisable to tell them." I knew Joe was right. Our parents would know that the limited disclosure would serve to keep Joe safe. We couldn't risk word getting out and putting him in danger. Tommy Takata still had connections in the Burg. Whatever was said here would be conveyed to him.

"How many people on the Police force will know? Will they all think you really got a drug habit and got fired?" I thought it was unlikely that most of those people would believe it. They knew Joe was a pretty straight shooter.

"Well, as far as really knowing, Morgan and a few of his peers and, of course, the folks up the chain of command. I've arranged for Dunphy to be a contact for you so if you need to reach me he can get a message to me. It will pass through a lot of hands, so you need to be judicious in what you say." He smiled at me and winked. I love it when he flirts with me.

Dunphy is Joe's best friend; they had met in the Police Academy years earlier. Joe's personal life at that time had been a disaster and so was Dunphy's. They bar hopped together, got into a lot of bar fights and bedded a lot of women. Joe put all his positive energy into work and moved up the ladder pretty quickly. Dunphy put all his energy into womanizing and fighting and it slowed down his professional progress. They weren't as close as they once were but they still worked out together two or three times a week and called on each other when they needed help. Dunphy had gotten his life together more in the past year and they were getting closer again, it seemed. I'd hoped Joe's positive influence had something to do with that.

Joe was holding my hand after he paid for lunch. He walked me to my car and wrapped his arms around me protectively. "Have you talked to the Doctor?"

"I called. I want to use Dr. Hands. His schedule is packed, so I can't get in for three weeks. I guess you'll have to miss it."

Joe gave a bark of laughter. "Dr. Hands? What kind of name is that? Especially for a Doctor who delivers babies?"

"I never thought of it. That's who Mary Lou and Valerie both used, so I just thought I would, too." I was laughing too. I could feel Joe's taut stomach moving with his laughter against my own. I was reminded again how funny and sexy he could be. If we didn't both need to get back to work I would have tempted him to follow me home for some afternoon delight.

"I've gotta go. I'm meeting Terri to talk about the change in plans. I'm not telling her about the baby until after we talk to our families." He gave me a kiss and headed over to the Ducati. If I'd known he was meeting Terri after lunch, I would have insisted he eat a burger with extra onions on it. Opportunities lost, sigh.

I called my mother and told her that, yes, both my husband and I would be able to come to dinner tonight. I also told her that we needed to find a way to occupy Grandma Mazur afterwards because we wanted to visit with just her and Daddy about something. She didn't seem to think this was an odd request, thankfully, so she said she'd handle it.

I trooped back to my post on Stark Street. Luckily, my pervert was proudly displaying his Mr. Happy on the corner to a hooker and I was able to apprehend him without incident just by promising I would look in his pants without making any negative comments. A small price to pay, I thought, although after seeing his pitiful little offering I think it is indelibly burned on my brain. I'm reminded more every day how happy I am to be married to Joe.

After collecting my money, I was happy to go home for a cool shower and a nap. I've been so hot the last couple of days. I guess no matter what it is that happens to me now; I can blame it on being pregnant. The phone ringing at 5:35 p.m. woke me with a start. It was Joe. He was running late and would have to meet me at my mom and dad's house instead of coming to pick me up. I got dressed, grabbed my keys and headed out the door, not willing to incur the wrath of my mother if I got there one minute after 6 p.m.

Joe was leaning on the kitchen counter and eating celery off of a relish tray when I ran in the door. My mother was telling him about a great new barber at the place where my Dad gets his hair cut. (Hint, hint, hint.) I'd never seen Joe eat celery before. He looked sort of dusty. I went over to him and brushed him off a little. By way of explanation he said, "I was sort of wrestling with a suspect earlier. I had your kind of afternoon." He smiled. He's right. He is hardly ever dirty. That's usually my gig.

"As long as it wasn't Terri Gilman, you're probably safe." I smiled at him.

"Nope. This was her ex-husband. He seems to be trying to move back in on her and felt that I was impeding his progress." He was laughing.

I was not laughing.

"What? You got in a fight with Terri's ex-husband?" Here I go again, my voice was getting higher and louder with every syllable. He can't even mention her name that I don't just start fuming.

"No, not really a fight." Joe was trying to cool me off. He was still sort of half-smiling and he'd put his hands on my shoulders in a comforting gesture. "I told you I was meeting with her after lunch. Well, when I got to her place, he was in the bedroom and wouldn't leave. She told me she didn't want him there so I was just - removing him, sort of, against his will. Anyway, there's always a warrant of some sort out on that guy, so I was going to take him into custody but I was on the Duc. He tried to run for it while I was calling for a blue and white, and I had to chase him down. He's pretty fast for a short little fat guy, but I managed to just trip him and then tackle him. I just got a little dusty, that's all."

He looked so innocent. He was just handling a domestic dispute. He was doing just like any other police officer would do for a victim in need. Except, of course, that this 'victim' was Terri freakin' Gilman, and he was running out on his pregnant wife to go play house with her in just 9 days. I know he was appealing to my sense of rationality. I didn't seem to know where it was right now. All I knew was that he and Terri had been intimate. Very intimate, that is, for a very long time. She didn't care if he was seeing her exclusively then, she just took him when she could get him – and I figured with his libido, she got him a lot. He, at that point in his life, didn't care if she was connected with organized crime, as long as she was connected to his zipper periodically.

I took a deep breath and counted to 10. My mother and Grandma Mazur were watching all this unfold with wide eyes. About then my Dad bellowed from the dinner table, "Dinner is late!" We all were moved to action, grabbing platters, gravy boats and pitchers and hustling out the kitchen door to the dining room.

"Isn't he something?" Grandma Mazur said, looking at Joe with adoration in her eyes. "He takes such good care of everyone. We just feel safer now that he's in the family."

I still had my eyes narrowed at him. "Yeah, he takes care of everyone alright." My teeth were still a little clenched when I helped myself to meatloaf.

The next thing I knew, I was looking up into Joe's eyes and he looked scared to death. I was lying on the floor and was all sweaty. My mother was bustling around trying to wipe my face with a damp cloth.

"Are you okay?" Joe asked his voice all soft and sexy.

"What happened? Why am I on the floor?" I asked.

"You just sort of fainted." Joe's eyebrows were knitted together. Aaww. He's worried about me. That's sweet. Uh-oh.

"I don't feel so good." I groaned.

Joe picked me up and carried me to the living room sofa where he gently put me down. My mother handed me a glass of water to drink. I drank a sip. She knew. I could tell by the look on her face that she knew everything.

Joe sat on the floor next to the sofa and held my hand. "Steph, are you okay?" He asked again.

"I'm feeling better. Maybe I'm just hungry." I hadn't eaten anything all day except for 3 donuts for breakfast, a bag of Cheetos, a huge, greasy chili-cheese burger, French fries and a chocolate milkshake. That's it. I'm just hungry.

I stood up and walked back into the dining room where my Dad and Grandma Mazur were still eating like nothing had happened. Mom sat in her regular seat and Joe took his spot after making sure I was all settled.

"Well," I said brightly, "We have some wonderful news. If you haven't guessed already, we're going to have a baby."

My dad mumbled something into his food about Joe not knowing what he'd gotten himself into.

Grandma just smiled and said, "Oh, you're knocked up. How nice."

"What? A baby! Oh, that's wonderful!" My mother was crying and bouncing around. I guess I was wrong when I thought she knew. "I was afraid you and Joseph were having trouble! Since you wanted to come to dinner without him I was scared you were going to tell us you were getting divorced again!"

"You didn't want me to come to dinner?" Joe asked.

"No, that's not what I said. I told her I wasn't sure you could make it because you have been busy lately. My mother thinks that a couple not having dinner together is the first sign of trouble." I answered him.

"Oh." He was trying to make sense of all of this.

Back to the others at the table, I said, "I guess it happened on our honeymoon. I'm waiting to get in to see Dr. Hands but I'm sure I'm pregnant." Everyone seemed sufficiently thrilled and relieved that Joe and I weren't splitting up.

After dinner was over, Grandma Mazur announced that she was going to Minnie Stein's viewing at the funeral parlor and that Mabel Grouper was here to pick her up. As hard as it would be for her, I asked her to keep the news about the baby quiet until tomorrow since we hadn't told Joe's family yet.

That solved, Joe asked my mom and dad to both come into the living room to sit down to talk with us. I could tell my mother thought it had something to do with the baby because she brought a calendar with her. I guess she was ready to plan showers or something. When Joe started to explain about the undercover operation, my Dad perked up. This was the most interested I've ever seen the man in anything in my life. He asked questions! He was excited! My mother was putting two and two together and realizing what this meant for me.

She looked at Joe accusingly and, shaking her finger in his face, said, "You can not leave my baby. You just married her. You can not leave her here all alone and in her condition. Shame on you for even thinking about it, Joseph Morelli."

Then a look of realization came over her face. "Wait a minute. Jeri Stephenson, you said? Her mother is in my bridge club. Shirley Stevenson. I feel so sorry for her. I can't imagine going through life knowing that one of my children had been murdered and no one had ever been punished for it. She tries so hard to put on a happy face. She looks 10 years older than me, but I know that she's really younger. Oh, Joe. You have to go find out what happened to that poor little girl."

Okay. It's official. My mother is as torn up about this and as conflicted about this as I am. I jumped into the conversation. "Mom, Dad, it is very important that only the two of you know what's going on. Grandma, Valerie, really nobody else can know. Joe's life could be in danger if it gets out that he's undercover. That means that you will have to play along. If someone is badmouthing Joe, you can't correct them or let on that he's not the lowlife scumbag he's acting like."

"Hey," Joe stopped me, "You don't have to say that like you believe it so much!"

"You know what I mean." I said to him, smiling. "He's leaving in 9 days. We're working out some details about how we can stay in touch while he's gone. Obviously I'm going to need your help while he's gone."

Hugs were given and well wishes conveyed all around before we packed up and headed the two blocks over to Joe's mom's house to go through the same thing all over again.


	4. Chapter 4

Undercover - Chapter 4

"Joseph Anthony Morelli, as your mother, I forbid you to abandon your pregnant wife and run away with that whore from your past. I don't care what noble cause you seem to have found to justify it, or whether your wife says you should go or not. **I** will not allow it." Joe's mom had smacked him in the head and was now standing on a footstool so she could get in his face while shaking her finger.

Joe was trying so hard not to laugh. His face was turning red and he was biting his lip so hard I thought it would bleed. The veins in his neck were pulsing and he was having a tough time holding it together. I presume he learned how to keep this straight face either in the Navy or the Police

Academy. I have not learned it, myself.

He finally spoke, "Ma, I'm sorry you don't see eye to eye on this with me, but it's really Stephanie's and my decision, you know? If anyone can tell me not to go, it's her. You are going to have to just accept our decision and go along with it. It's only 4 months." Or six, or 9, or however long it takes, I thought to myself. "I'm glad you are worried about us. That's nice, but you should take all this …. energy and channel it into happiness for us about the baby." He was holding her elbows to steady her on the footstool because he was afraid she'd fall and break a hip. I was sitting on the sofa trying not to giggle. One peep out of me and Joe would fall in the floor laughing and then I'd be in trouble with my mother-in-law right along with him.

Everyone in Joe's family has a temper, including Joe. To anyone not involved directly in the argument at hand, it usually seems laughable, especially when it involves this 5'3", 74 year old woman and her 6 foot baby boy. She has never had control over Joe since he was born. I have no idea why she thinks she can do it now. When Joe's siblings are here, it's even worse. They tease him about being her favorite, which he is, and she tries to deny it and then Joe picks at her until she just loses it with him and gets in his face. No one in the world could get by with what Joe does to his mother and live to tell about it. Angie Morelli can stop any other person, including Joe's older brothers, with just a glare, but not Joe. He gets charged up by fighting with her. I hadn't seen this side of Joe's family until recently. He'd confessed he had hidden it from me. Not because my family is so sedate, but because his is just exponentially loony.

If someone tells me what to do, I just narrow my eyes and say 'make me' but Joe just listens, considers it and then goes on to do what he wants. He's so darned self-controlled. I love watching him and his mother fuss at each other. He doesn't lose his cool and he's always respectful to her, but they both know she can't do a darned thing to him and he just loves to tease her.

She continued, now poking him in the chest with her index finger as she spoke every word. "I never wanted you to become a police officer. It has brought me nothing but misery. This is a mistake. Mark my words."

"So marked," he said. "It's late, I'm taking Stephanie home. Don't forget, the undercover operation is not for public knowledge. The baby is." He picked her up off of the footstool and put her down on the floor with a peck on the cheek. "We'll be by to give you more information before I leave town. Tell Grandma Bella goodnight for us."

Joe's Grandma Bella was thrilled about the new of the baby. She had an immediate 'vision' about how it was a boy and would grow up to be a police officer just like his father. Of course, then she had to go lie down because her visions always make her tired. This had given us a chance to talk to Joe's mom about the undercover operation.

"Wait a minute." Joe's mom said. "I have cookies in the kitchen all ready for you." She said and she went to pick up his care package. Leave it to an Italian mother not to let you leave her house without food, regardless of how much you have argued with each other while you were there. We waited, avoiding all eye contact until she was back and had kissed each of us goodnight.

We walked in silence to the truck. After we were both settled in our seats, we started laughing. Loud, snorting, barks of laughter erupted from both of us. We were just feeding off of each other. We'd both really needed a laugh today. We laughed and giggled all the way back to our house. I had tears running down my cheeks from laughing and Joe was nearly as bad. I was afraid I was going to wet my pants if we didn't get home soon so I rushed past him when he opened the front door so I could dash to the bathroom. He was going through the mail in the kitchen and was still smiling when I came out.

I said to him, "You've had a helluva day. You've been scolded by both of our mothers, had to put up with a hormonal, pregnant wife who is insanely jealous of a skank with whom you are 'romantically linked', and had to chase down your ex-lover's ex-husband. That's enough for anyone, isn't it?"

He chuckled, turned off the lights and followed me upstairs. I could tell he was afraid to comment on my remarks.

I whipped my shirt open and said, "Think they are bigger today than they were yesterday?"

He smiled and kissed me very tenderly. I could tell he wasn't in a playful mood anymore. He wanted to show me that he loved me. He wanted to prove to me that he was in love with me and only me. I've said before that Joe knows how to go slow. It's like he is in slow motion when he gets in this mood. He kisses me slowly. He takes his time undressing me and when he finally gets around to making love to me, there is no frantic passion to be found. He just continues to caress me and to love me, oh…. so…. slowly. He should patent this process. It is amazing. I can't say that I have the super-orgasm this way like I do when he rides me like a rodeo bull – but those wear you out. This way I can look forward to an unbroken string of amazing medium sized orgasms and Joe ensures they are plentiful. He never loses contact with 'that spot' and in his slow motion, lazy way he brings me to climax oh, five or six times, at least, I would say and then finally joins me when I am just about to pass out from bliss. When I get impatient, frantic to yell 'faster, faster', or try to take control, he just places his hands on my hips to stop me from moving at all. He is amazing.

When I woke up at 3:45 a.m. because Bob was licking my face, Joe was still clinging to me. Bob needed to go outside. I pulled away from Joe, shoved my arms into a robe, and took Bob downstairs. He ran out the back door and tinkled on the grass. He seemed to still need to take care of business, so I thought I'd go to the bathroom while I was waiting on him. When I went back to let him in, there was no Bob. Dammit. He doesn't ever run away from Joe. He just does it to me.

I didn't have any shoes on. I called out the back door, quietly, hoping I wouldn't wake the neighbors. I ran upstairs and started looking for some shoes I could put on. I was tossing things around, I guess and woke Joe. "What's going on?" He asked.

"Bob ran away. He needed to go outside and I let him but now he's disappeared." I responded with a lot of disgust hanging from my voice.

"I'll go get him. You get back in bed." He grabbed his sweats and a pair of deck shoes and lumbered down the stairs half asleep.

I guess I fell asleep immediately because the next thing I was aware of was Joe turning on the water in the shower. Glancing at the clock I saw it was almost 8 a.m.!

"Joe, did you find Bob?" I called into the bathroom.

"No. He's nowhere. I'm waiting until I think someone will be in the office and I'll call Animal Control to see if he got picked up." I could tell by Joe's voice that he was worried about not being able to find him. Bob's never really gone AWOL before.

"You're usually gone to work by now," I said, "I'm sorry you are going to be late."

He opened the door, grabbed my wrist gently and pulled me into the bathroom and then into the shower with him. "I thought if you had time today, we'll run some errands to try to get things squared away. We don't even have a joint bank account yet. I want to be sure you can get to any money you may need before I'm out of touch. I have a physical for some extra life insurance at 11 a.m., too. Besides that, we can do whatever you want to today."

He was so considerate. I didn't want to think about needing the additional life insurance but it was nice that he'd thought of it.

I responded, "I have one skip to run down this morning. I could do that while you are at your physical. After that, maybe we can play it by ear." I teared up and started sobbing. "Oh, I hope Bob's okay!"

"Honey, it's okay. We'll find him." He was trying to be strong, but I knew he was worried about Bob, too. He's such a dopey dog.

After our shower, Joe left me in peace alone in the bathroom. He'd wandered across the hall to the office he'd set up there. I could hear him clicking on the computer keyboard until I started the blowdryer.

He was smiling big when he stuck his head in a couple of minutes later. "Bob's been arrested. He must have just gotten lost. He's at the shelter. I'll get dressed and go bail him out of jail."

Whew. All is well with my world again, I thought. But then, I started throwing up. I thought I was going to be able to skip the morning sickness. I'd really felt fine until after I found out I was pregnant. My mother said she never felt better in her life than when she was pregnant. I was hoping I would be the same way. Even though I was really nauseous I thought I looked pretty good. Maybe it is that 'glowing' thing that I always hear about when people get pregnant.

I wandered downstairs to get something to eat. I usually eat junk for breakfast but I should try to find something more nutritious since I'm having a baby. Joe had put the coffee on before he left, bless him. I put a lot of milk in for the calcium. That should be good for me, right? Upon inspection, I found the refrigerator sorely lacking in healthful choices. There were some carrots I kept in there for Rex but that seemed a bit extreme. I finally settled on leftover spaghetti for breakfast. That seemed reasonably healthy. I didn't want to wash a plate, so I just ate it out of the pan cold.

Bob came bounding in the back door about when I was finished eating. "I'm so glad to see you!" I cried as I hugged him to me. "That was very naughty. You should not run away. What if mommy and daddy couldn't find you?" As soon as I said it, I wished I could take it back.

Joe was grinning at me. "Mommy and Daddy? Cupcake, I think this baby is doing something to you."

I had ideas of things to do to Joe. I took his hand and led him upstairs. It was time for a rodeo.


	5. Chapter 5

Undercover Chapter 5

Joe had taken the day off so we could get some details out of the way before he had to leave next week on the undercover operation. He would leave in 8 days. I tried not to think about that. We'd gone to the bank and he had added my name to his checking and savings accounts so I could handle the money while he was gone. We'd never talked about how we would pay bills and things after we were married, but in his absence I knew I could make it work. While we were there, my cell phone rang. I recognized the number as Joe's mother. Why was she calling me instead of Joe? There's only one way to find out. "Hello?"

"Stephanie?"

"Yes. How are you Mrs. Morelli?" Joe shot me a curious look. He wondered why she was calling me, too.

"Your name is now Mrs. Morelli, too, sweetheart," she sang. "You can call me either Angie or Mom like all my other kids do." I could hear the smile in her voice.

"Okay, I'll try." Old habits are hard to break and besides I was terrified of the woman. I couldn't imagine ever calling her Mom.

"You'd mentioned that you were trying to get an appointment with Dr. Hands before Joseph runs away with that woman." She said it so casually…"I remembered that Joe's cousin Tiffany works in Dr. Hands office. I guess you were a little rattled and gave her the wrong name when you were making your appointment. You made your appointment as Stephanie Plum instead of Stephanie Morelli. If she had realized who you were, she would have juggled things around and gotten you right in. Anyway, I called over there this morning. Do you think you and Joseph could go this afternoon around 3:30?"

"Oh, yes! That would be great. Thank you for doing that." Joe said that he didn't care that I'd decided not to change my name when we got married, but I hadn't thought about his mother's reaction. I'm sure she would think it was a slap in the face. She is pretty old school. In fact my own mother didn't like the idea. She thought that people wouldn't believe that I was married if I still had my maiden name. I don't think I'll get into it with Mrs. Morelli now. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Of course, I also wasn't considering children when I made that decision either. I may have to think about it some more, later. Much later.

Mrs. Morelli continued, "Alright, Dear, I'm anxious to hear everything the doctor says. It sounds like it will be a Spring baby. You know Joseph was a Spring baby…oh, of course you know. Silly me. Listen, I want to have all of the family together tomorrow night so you and Joseph can tell everyone the good news…about the baby, I mean, not the other news – of course that news isn't good news anyway. Are you free tomorrow night?" She asked.

I responded. "Um, well, I think you should talk to Joe about that." I didn't know if he'd want to tell everyone himself, especially under the circumstances. Of course, our two families are very different from one another. Joe and I are completely different, too. It was weird enough for me to tell my own family about the baby. That was just like saying 'I had sex!' to my parents. I know everyone has been perfectly aware that Joe and I have been having sex for years but this was the first time anyone could actually prove it.

Joe's family is more open about things. They talk about having sex like they talk about going to the grocery store. No detail is too personal. Joe and I are always late to every event with his family because we always get caught up and wind up in bed before we go – and then everyone there knows why we are late and they TALK about it. Oh, I dreaded a dinner with them. His sisters will probably ask me something like what sexual position we were using when I got pregnant. Considering that we probably had unprotected sex 8 or 9 times that one day (it was our first day on our honeymoon after all) I wouldn't even know what to tell them.

Including Joe and me, there are 5 siblings and 5 spouses. I have no idea how many children there are between them, but it's a madhouse when everyone gets together. Joe is the youngest by several years so most of the children are teenagers with a couple of smaller ones tossed in. Our kids will be at the back of the line. The only time I was around them all at once was at our wedding. I was so unsettled by thinking about having to face the Morelli Mob that I forget to tell Mrs. Morelli that Joe was sitting right next to me and she could talk to him right then. She'd already disconnected by the time I came to my senses. I conveyed to Joe that we had a Doctor's appointment at 3:30. Just as I got the words out, his cell phone rang. I said that his mother would ask him about dinner with his family. While I was finishing up paperwork in the bank, he talked to his mom and said 'yes, of course' we'd love to have five hours of embarrassing dialogue with his family. He also asked her to make manicotti. He loves his mother's manicotti.

My mind was drifting. I've never seen Joe embarrassed in my life. I can't even imagine it. When his grandmother would ask something like, 'Is this the girl you are sleeping with now?' He would have a glib response like, 'I'm trying,' while I wanted to crawl under the rug.

"Come on, Hot Stuff. We've still got an hour and a half before we need to head to the Doctor's office. I want to take you home and explain my finances so you can be aware of everything. I hate to dump it all on you so fast but you'll need to understand it in case something comes up while I'm gone." Joe grabbed my hand and home we went.

"Omigod," I said as we were driving toward the house, "we had sex this morning."

He gave me a suggestive stare, "Are you saying you are ready for more, or what?"

"No! What if the Doctor, you know, what if he knows? I've got to take another shower. Can I douche while I'm pregnant?" I looked at him for an answer.

"How the hell should I know? I don't even know what that means. Call my sister, Kathy. She knows all that stuff. Why would a Doctor even care if we had sex? We're married now, even. Why does this stuff bug you so much?" He just didn't get it. He pushed his long hair out of his eyes for the hundredth time today.

I called Mary Lou. She'd know about do's and don'ts during pregnancy. A big bonus is that she isn't in Joe's family so we wouldn't have to discuss it tomorrow at the dinner table. She said I could douche gently with clear water but not with anything else. Okay, I can handle that.

After my second shower of the day, Joe and I were in the office upstairs across from our bedroom and he was trying to get me to comprehend his financial system. "Okay, all the regularly occurring bills, you know, the gas bill, the phone bill, the water bill, et cetera, those are all just on automatic draft so you don't have to worry about them. What comes in the mail is just a notice that will tell you when the money is going to be drafted out of the account and how much the bill will be."

He started to move along to another subject, but I stopped him. "So, I just need to make sure there's money in the account to pay them, right?"

He looked puzzled. "Well, no, I mean my paycheck is automatically deposited so there should be plenty of money to cover everything. By the time I get home there will probably be a decent chunk of excess unless you have bought something substantial. Anyway, don't worry about it, we'll talk about it then."

Now I was puzzled. I'd never heard of such a thing. "You mean all your bills… everything, added up… they just come out of the account and you can just let it all automatically go out without having to juggle money around?" Joe was getting board while I was processing all this information and had taken the opportunity to hook a finger into my neckline and take a peek inside.

He was laughing. "Well, yeah. That's the idea. It makes it a lot easier that way."

"What about your credit cards?"

He answered, "Glad you reminded me. I ordered you cards on my accounts," He said, pulling several credit cards from the drawer and handing them to me. "They draft, too. You don't have to worry about paying them either."

"How do they know how much you want to pay on them? I mean sometimes you can pay more than the minimum, right?"

He was seriously chuckling at me by now. "Yeah. I pay them off every month. They just take the balance out of the account. If you've bought something big, you may need to transfer money from savings to checking so that the bill is covered, but if you don't buy anything out of the ordinary it should be fine."

"You mean your credit cards have no balance on them?" Wow. I'd married a man with no credit card debt, and money in savings. Doesn't he have any vices? Flaws? Weaknesses? "Okay. Does your car payment draft, too?" I didn't want his car getting repossessed while he was gone.

"No car payment. Oh, that reminds me, I need to give you my key to the safety deposit box so you can get to the title and stuff if you need to for any reason." He was making a note. I had married a note maker. I'd never seen him act like this before. I'm sure that he is nervous because he's leaving me to go on a dangerous assignment and he wants me to be prepared for the worst, especially since there is a baby on the way.

"House payment? I asked.

"Nope. I inherited it free and clear. Insurance and taxes on it will draft quarterly. The only thing you'll need to actually remember to pay will be any one-time bills you get, you know? I guess your Doctor bills and things like that. I can't really think of anything else." He was studying the stack of papers in front of him, making sure he wasn't forgetting anything.

"How do you manage to do it? You have everything paid off? You have no debt, whatsoever. You're a cop. You don't make any money. How the heck did you manage to actually put money in savings? I've never had more than $100 in savings in my life." I could think of this as hitting the jackpot or I could think of it as hitting the nuthouse.

"Eh, it's not a big deal, really. After my dad died, I watched my mother struggle for every dime when I was growing up. I knew if she could ever just get caught up she'd be fine, but she couldn't with 5 kids in the house. By the time I left, since I was the youngest, she had pretty well gotten back on her feet. I didn't ever want to have to scrape by like she had. My dad had just racked up so much debt and she just couldn't service it after he died. Anyway, I just disciplined myself to be responsible with my money from the time I joined the Navy. I tried to put everything I could into savings so that I could have a sort of a cushion to live off of before I got a job when I got out."

"Even when I was irresponsible with my personal life, back in the day, I knew I didn't need much. I spent about half of my paycheck on booze and whatever women I was chasing at the time and the rest I saved. When I became a cop, I just bought an old beater car for cash and drove the wheels off of it. I made sure I put into savings what I would have been paying on a car payment if I had one. I've been doing it ever since. This way, if I want something, I can pretty much have it and pay cash for it. It's not too bad, I just don't live beyond my means. You know?"

Not a big deal. Just don't live beyond your means. Hmm. No, I didn't know. I was in debt to my eyeballs. I couldn't go more than a few days without some income because I would have been on the street. I was going to be SO humiliated if Joe ever asked me about **my** financial situation. Of course, he already knew I was a walking disaster so maybe nothing would surprise him. I was starting to panic again. I couldn't keep chasing skips forever while I was pregnant. I'd have to stop at some point. How would I pay my bills after I didn't have any income for myself? Well, I wouldn't have to pay rent anymore because Joe's house was paid for. Joe had bought me a nice used car for a wedding present and I guess he'd paid cash for it. I'll just have to see how this turns out.

It was time to leave for the Doctor's appointment and I was nervous about it, too. It seemed I was in constant panic mode today. Joe could tell, I guess and just gave me a big hug and kiss before we headed out the door. He continued to be tender and understanding with me and it just made me love him even more than I did yesterday.

While we were driving to the Doctor's office, I asked, "Have you figured out how we can stay in touch while you're gone? What if I have a question or you get sick or something?"

He seemed frustrated not to have a good answer and gave a disgusted wave of his hand. "I think we have a scenario where we can handle infrequent written communication. I want to figure out how I can actually see you for a couple of days periodically – maybe every other month, but we haven't come up with that plan yet."

"I'm not sure how you may feel about this, but I have an idea." I said brightly.

Joe looked at me out of the corner of his eye and said, "Lay it on me, Sugar. Anything you've got has to be better than anything I do."

I shifted in my seat so I could see him better and then I reached over and brushed that annoying hair out of his eyes. "Well, if you are skipping out on me and acting like you have a drug habit, wouldn't it be reasonable that you would be arrested, maybe for drug possession, and that led to you getting fired? Then Vinnie could bond you out. That way, when you missed your court date, I would need to come bring you in." I smiled my most convincing smile at him.

He smiled back and looked pretty impressed. "Cupcake, I think that idea has merit. Let me talk about it with Morgan and we'll see what he thinks. Of course, you've tried and failed to apprehend me in the past." He winked at me.

"Of course, I have also tried and succeeded at apprehending you in the past. I made $10,000 on that deal, if you recall." I winked back.

He wanted to object, but we were at the Doctor's office. I jumped out of the car to avoid the altercation.

The appointment was relatively uneventful. They asked a lot of questions that I had a hard time answering. Like, 'Name?' I went with Plum. Joe didn't even pay attention until they asked which last name the baby would have. He looked at me. I looked at him. Finally I just told them to make us all Morelli's. One big happy family. Now that there's a child in the picture it makes sense to change my name anyway. Joe smiled a lazy half-smile. I think he was pleased. He probably always wanted me to change my name but he knew that it was going to have to be my idea if it was ever going to happen. It took him a while to learn to stop pushing me, but he's embracing it as second nature now. I think I eventually make the same decision he would have initially, but it just takes me a while to warm up to it.

The nurse asked what I thought, were very personal questions, too. I'm sure they needed to know, but geez. I don't want to talk about this stuff. Couldn't they just ask me in writing and then I could answer them without actually talking or seeing their face? 'When was my last period?' Joe finally answered because I couldn't. Why would he remember that? I'm sure it had something to do with sex.

Have I been having any cramping? Well, yes, a little today, I said. The nurse said that cramping during pregnancy can be caused by particularly intense orgasms. Have I had any of those? Oh, God. I really didn't want to talk about this. Joe, of course looked very pleased with himself.

They gave me prenatal vitamins and asked if I had any strong preferences about the type of 'childbirth experience' I preferred. What the heck does that mean? My preference would be a childbirth experience that I didn't actually have to attend personally.

The nurse explained that some people prefer natural childbirth (no drugs – fat chance), some do home birth, and some use a birthing suite. I've never heard of any of this stuff and had no clue how to answer her so she gave me a book to read before my next appointment, which is in a month. It has chapters on morning sickness, sex during pregnancy (I guess we have that figured out already), nutrition, birthing options, and even breastfeeding. I was feeling pretty nauseous after just talking to the nurse and I hadn't even seen the doctor yet.

When Dr. Hands came in, he checked all the paperwork and the couple of blood tests they had run. They also did another pregnancy test and, lo and behold, I was pregnant. He asked again about the orgasms. He explained they weren't a problem (good thing, because I don't want Joe to get lazy and to lose his touch – it's pretty magical). He checked my cervix and all that fun stuff where the stirrups were used and I got to stare at black and white cartoons that were stapled to the acoustic tiles on the ceiling. Joe just hung out in a chair and watched everything going on attentively. If he'd been the one in the stirrups, I would have wanted to see what was going on, but he was fine just sitting across the room, listening and making eyes at me periodically. He was beaming. Seeing him so excited about this experience was making me happier about it and more terrified as well.

Joe had apparently run Dr. Hands through a background check. He felt it was important that the Dr. knew what was going on with his absence since it would be putting additional stress on me. So, after my appointment was over, the three of us sat in the doctor's private office and talked for a few minutes. Joe didn't give him any particulars other than that he would be leaving soon for a professional commitment out of town. The doctor urged us to choose someone else to be a birthing coach for me in case Joe couldn't be there and told Joe that he wished him the best of luck.

Dr. Hands also said that he didn't usually do a sonogram this early but since I was already 8 weeks along and Joe wouldn't be able to come to any other appointments with me for a while, that he'd be happy to do one now so that we could hear the baby's heartbeat if we wanted. We jumped at the chance and left his office with our hearts in our throats. We both realized this was another person we were now responsible for.

I don't think either of us spoke the entire ride home. I didn't want Joe to leave. This was too exciting for him to miss. I also knew that he didn't want to go. I can't believe how I have gone from not wanting a baby at all to wanting this baby more than anything else in the world in just two days. That was when I realized that Joe would be with me the next time I was pregnant so even if he missed a lot this time, he would get to experience it later. I was shocked by the revelation. Suddenly, not only did I want this child, but I knew that I wanted more than one. I was wondering if an alien had taken over my mind when Joe broke the silence.

"I don't think I can do this, Stephanie." He was pale and sweating. I could see the fear, and panic and love in his face.

"What? Can't do what?" I asked.

"Go on this assignment. I just don't think I can leave you and do this." He was holding my hand and looking for a sign in my eyes that it was okay that he back out.

I sighed. "Joe, we've been through this. It's going to be okay. I know I'm not the most level headed girl in the world, but I'm not the first to have a child. I'll make it through this just fine." I was trying to convince myself as much as I was trying to convince him. "Besides, you can be here with me the whole time the next time we have a baby, right? This isn't a one time opportunity."

"I can't believe you just said that!" He said. "I thought I'd have to beg you to have another one after this." He grinned. "Well, I guess I still might. I don't think you can say for sure that you want another one until you've got the first one out of the oven."

I playfully smacked his arm with the book we got at the Doctor's office. "If this one acts like you, you can guarantee he'll be an only child."

His eyes met mine. "He? Did you see something on that sono today that I didn't?"

"No. I just don't want to keep saying 'it'. Let's just give the baby a temporary name so that we don't have to keep referring to it as 'the baby. What should it be?"

"Okay, Cupcake, let's call the baby 'Muffin'." He said, smiling.

Perfect. I love it.

Joe got a call from an informant and had to go to work for a little bit that evening to work on another case so I just hung out with Bob and took a long walk. I was in bed and almost asleep when he got home. He undressed quietly and snuggled up behind me when he came to bed. The feeling of his warm body pressed against my back just flooded me with an amazing sense of well-being and safety. He kissed me softly on the shoulder and I just said, 'mmmm.'

I rolled over to face him and buried my face in his neck. "I missed you." I said.

"You are so smart. Morgan thinks your idea is great. It makes sense that I'd be processed and that Vinnie would bail me out since he's in your family. We worked through the logistics. I'll tell you all about it in the morning." He kissed me again and put his head down to go to sleep with a big sigh and his arm across my tummy.

"Don't keep me in suspense. Tell me now." I propped myself up on my elbow to look into those deep expressive brown eyes.

"Well, it's a little complicated. No one will know that my arrest is not for real, so I'll need to actually be arrested and processed. Of course, we'll arrange that internally and then I'll need you to arrange for Vinnie to post bond. Vinnie and Connie, of course, won't know that it isn't for real either, so it will be just like any transaction for them, with the obvious distinction that you work there. Anyway, my point is that I will actually have to sit in jail overnight for this scenario to work, so you and I will lose a little time we thought we'd have together. We won't be cutting into our time much, but instead of leaving from home the morning we'd planned, I'll need to go into jail at midnight the night before and leave from jail. Does that make sense?"

I nodded. I didn't like it, but to have Vinnie post bond, Joe will have to go through with being arrested and processed. He'd been through it before and it wasn't pleasant.

"After I'm released, Terri will pick me up at the jail and we'll take off. Our story will be that I'm running away with her in an effort to escape from the pressure of a new wife and a child. You will have to act like you have no idea where I am, at least for a while. If someone asks you point blank, you can do what feels right. You can deny it or just choose not to answer. It's really up to you. When I go FTA in 60 days, Vinnie will be pressuring you to find me, so you'll need to tell him that you've heard that I'm living in Detroit. You'll set out to come get me. I'll try not to ruin you sexually that weekend so that you don't have that goofy look on your face that you usually do after we've been at it."

He was laying on his back with his hands under his head. My hand was on his abdomen and I could feel him laughing. He's right. My face usually gives away my level of sexual satisfaction after being with Joe. That's why everyone in his family knows why we're always late to family dinners.

He continued, "I'll let you apprehend me and we'll go to the Detroit PD where you will present me to a specified contact for 'processing and transportation' back to Trenton. We've arranged for the Detroit contact to smuggle you out of the PD in a private vehicle, so you'll need a change of clothes and a hat or something so you aren't easily recognizable. He'll deliver you somewhere in a quiet suburb where we'll be unlikely to attract attention. I'll be transported to you shortly afterward for a joyous 48 hour reunion. It may be tricky to convince people that I actually came back with you to Trenton and no one saw us, but you can do it. Just tell them that I was being an ass and you didn't want anyone around to witness it."

"Why not really come back to Trenton?" I asked.

"Well, for several reasons. One, if I only get to see you for a couple of days, I don't want to spend most of our time traveling back and forth. Also, I imagine that at least one of my brothers or cousins is going to try to teach me that it isn't cool to run out on your pregnant wife and I really don't want to have the crap beat out of me for the short period of time I get to see you. I can't even kiss you if I have a broken jaw. They'll never believe the real scenario even if I told them. Then, too, if I'm back here at home, the doorbell will never stop ringing and I don't want to share you with anyone else that weekend."

He was silent for a moment and then gave a bark of laughter. "Oh, I forgot the best part. Morgan says that your breasts will be significantly bigger by then! He and his wife have 3 kids." He was smiling at me and looked so wonderful and handsome in the moonlight that was coming in our window. I burst into tears. He was clearly surprised. "Honey, I'm sorry. I was just teasing you. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings! You know I like your breasts and all, but that's not the reason I want to see you." He sat up and pulled me into his embrace. He was kissing my head and my temple and clinging to me.

"I know. I'm just emotional. I miss you already!" I continued to cry, all the while telling myself it was going to be okay. Besides I am sort of looking forward to having bigger boobs. That doesn't just happen every day. Joe just looked pained.

"Steph, please don't cry. You know I hate it when you cry."

"I know. Keep telling me the plan while I try to get control of myself." He scooted up to the headboard so he could lean against it, and then pulled me up there with him. He continued to hold me, comfort me, and press kisses into my forehead.

"Well, I'm not sure what we'll do following that weekend as far as Vinnie is concerned. He usually insists on physically seeing the person he's bonding. I mean, he's going to get his bond returned, plus interest, after the case is out in the open. We don't need him hiring Ranger or a Rent-a-Thug to come after me. That would screw everything up. Morgan thinks we need to level with him. I think that's risky. I don't trust him." I agreed with Joe. Vinnie wasn't the pillar of virtue. He'd sell his own mother for a good price.

Okay, now I had a choice to make. Joe and Ranger had developed a very serious mutual dislike for each other in the past few months. I had tried to walk the line with both of them and to remind them periodically that I didn't expect them to be best friends, but I really needed to be able to maintain a working relationship with Ranger and a separate personal/working one with Joe and the two of them really were almost always on the same side of the law.

We all got along fine as long as I didn't mention Joe to Ranger or Ranger to Joe. But Joe had brought Ranger's name up. I've been worried ever since Joe first mentioned the undercover operation that Ranger would take it upon himself as my friend (or as Joe's adversary) to hunt Joe down and bring him home…or worse. "Joe," I said. "I need to ask you a question and I need you to think about it and not get mad, but just sleep on it. You don't even need to answer me tonight. Okay?"

"I don't like to agree to things like that. Ask me and then I'll tell you if I agree." He was studying my face in the darkened room.

"Well, I hope you agree, because otherwise this evening could take a downward turn that I don't want it to take. We don't have much time together and I don't want to waste it on arguing with you. You mentioned Ranger." As soon as I uttered Ranger's name, I felt Joe's chest tighten reflexively. "Now, again, I just want you to think about this. I'm afraid if he thinks you've abandoned me he'll track you down and spoil the operation whether Vinnie hires him to or not. I know you don't like me working with him, but maybe, in this case, it would be a good thing."

Joe let out a disgusted laugh. "Yeah, that would be a really good thing. I don't think so."

I sat up and looked at Joe's face. The moonlight was making his features even darker than usual but I could see his scowl. "Listen to me. By the time your second appearance as an FTA rolls around, four months from now, I will be 6 months pregnant. How credible is that going to look when you just surrender to me? We'll need someone else to 'apprehend' you. Besides, if Ranger is in on this plan, maybe it will help you two mend some bridges that you've both been burning lately." Joe started to speak up again but I stopped him by putting my index finger up to his lips. "Hey, I said I don't want an answer tonight. I need you to think about how this entire scenario is going to work. I have a professional relationship with Ranger. I will have one as long as I'm doing my current job and I don't have any plans to stop doing it long term. Of course, I'll have to slow down during my pregnancy, but I'm not quitting."

I could see him nodding. He, again, had learned that I had to do things my way. That's just the way it is. "Okay. I'll think about it," he said as he pulled me towards his body again. "You are the most frustrating, hard-headed, intelligent and exciting woman I've ever met in my life. I love you and I can't wait to see what our life together is going to look like in 5 years and in 25 years. I may want to kill myself periodically but I will always love you." He did. I could tell. I'm such a lucky girl.


	6. Chapter 6

We arrived at Mrs. Morelli's house for dinner on time. I think it was the first time I'd been anywhere with Joe that we were actually on time. The only reason it happened today was because he'd worked until the very last minute and just stopped in front of our house long enough for Bob and I to jump in the car with him and head to his mother's house. Joe must have had a suggestion from someone at the PD to put some gel or something in his long hair and he was looking especially fine. If he'd made the mistake of walking into the front door of our house, we'd have been late for sure. I just can't resist the man.

The Morelli zoo was in full swing when we got there. Bob is always thrilled to have so many people to pester and annoy. Joe is the baby of the family and he has 4 older siblings. He had been born when his mother was 38 and she never made it a secret that Joe's arrival was an unplanned blessing. Joe's dad died when he was young so he and his mother had been close forever. His Grandma Bella, his paternal grandmother, had moved in with his mother 10 years ago when they both needed help making ends meet. This was my worst nightmare. I did not want to wake up someday when my children were grown and realize that Joe was dead but his mother had moved into my house with me. I'd kill myself.

Regardless, here we are. Of Joe's family members, I know his mother and his Grandma Bella the best. They had been constants in the Burg when I was growing up. His siblings were quite a bit older than Joe and I so I didn't really know them until now. In fact, if there had been a test where I had to name everyone, I'm not positive that I would have made it through on the first try. Of all the kids running around there's no chance I could match them up with their parents.

Joe's eldest brother is Marc. At 46, he's a successful realtor. All of the Morelli men inherit charm and incredible Italian good looks. Marc is no exception. He has a wife, Barbara, and 4 children. Unfortunately, he also has a mistress named Shelly who is also sort of considered a part of the family. Joe, being close to his mother, and seeing what his Dad's womanizing had done to her, disapproves. That makes me incredibly happy because I really don't think he would ever cheat on me. Since my first husband did, and it left me a bit insecure, it is hard for me to say that, but I try really hard to have faith and trust in Joe and he's never given me any reason to doubt him. Joe and Marc are not on the best of terms because their value systems just clash. When Marc brings Shelly to family gatherings instead of Barbara and the kids, he and Joe inevitably end up in an argument at best and a real physical altercation at worst. Marc's been married to Barbara for 22 years and has been with Shelly steadily for 18. He has other girlfriends, too, but Shelly's the only one he's kept around long term. Because of his profession, he and Barbara have a lovely home in the suburbs with the kids, and he and Shelly have a nice condo downtown. Barbara knows about Shelly and she just seems to think this is part of the hand she was dealt. I made sure Joe knew that I believed this thought was a load of Bullshit. He agreed, but at least he knew how I felt. I was thankful tonight to see Barbara here with Marc.

Kathy is the next in line. She is a stay at home wife and mom to 2 teen aged children. Mike, her husband of almost 20 years is a computer programmer. Joe calls him a geek, but I think he's pretty funny, in a nice sort of way. She is a typical eldest daughter in a large Italian family. She is the peacemaker and usually does her best to help everyone she can. Kathy has always been supportive of Joe and she lets us know that she loves him. She's already accepted me as a sister and is working hard to make me feel like part of the family.

Tony is the next boy in the family. He is 43 and his wife is Angela. I tell Joe that she reminds me of Medusa (privately) because her hair is even darker and more unruly than mine. Tony and Joe look enough alike from the back that Angela admits to snuggling up to Joe accidentally more than once. I was making mental notes that Joe is NOT wearing a green shirt so that I didn't accidentally make a pass at Tony tonight. Tony's hair is shorter than Joe's too; at least now that Joe was growing his out. Angela and Tony have 3 daughters, ranging in age from 13 to 5. Tony has periodically showed the traits of the Morelli male. He has certainly strayed, and definitely has a love of alcohol and the wild side of human nature, but he seems to have been trying harder lately to be an adult. Angela adores Tony and wants so much to make it work. She left last year for a while. I think it was a wake up call for him. I hope they can keep it together. I don't know what will happen if they don't.

Joe always says that his Grandma Bella doesn't allow divorce. I guess that's true because I have never seen a Morelli divorce. They prefer to live long, unusually unhappy lives instead – or to die young.

Back to my chronology, Mary is the youngest next to Joe. She is five years older than him, at 41. Her husband is named Stewart and is an accountant. Joe has declared Stewart the 'Uber Geek'. Everyone understands when Joe says these things; it is with a smile on his face, at least most of the time. Stew is Jewish and that is a trial for the Catholic family, it seems. Another trial is that Stewart had two children from a previous marriage that Mary is helping to raise, but they have not been able to have their own children. They have tried for years, but every effort seems to have failed. Mary's distress at not being able to conceive just made Joe's and my experience even more difficult. Anyone who has ever had a friend or family member who struggles with infertility, low sperm mobility or any other conception issue knows that with every announcement of a new baby, it seems that the spotlight is turned around to focus on the issue of the 'unblessed' party.

Joe had warned me about this before we got to his mother's house. "Now, Honey, you need to understand something. Mary will cry when we announce the baby. She doesn't mean anything by it. She really wants a child of her own, but it just isn't happening yet. They have tried everything – in-vitro, sperm donations, homeopathic pharmaceuticals, surrogates, adoptions…I mean **everything**, but it just isn't working out. You need to understand, it isn't that she's not happy for us. She is just really sad for herself. Don't let it bother you. I know that's hard. It's just part of being in a big family. Everyone brings their own issues to the table. Mary's my favorite sister. She loves me and she'll be happy for us. Stewart's kids are great, but they aren't her own. She loves them and she wants the best for them. She says it's just not the same to raise someone else's child – she can't even adopt them because his ex-wife is still active in their lives so she feels like she's just sort of a 'spare part' of the family for them. Mary's 41 and the doctor says her chances are drying up for her to have her own child. She's pumped so full of hormones from trying to conceive, we have to be just about ready for anything from her. Short of her pulling a gun, just go with the flow." He smiled and winked at me for the millionth time today.

Oh, Boy. This 'pep talk' is really helpful. "I don't know your siblings very well at all. I'm a little nervous." I confided in him as we pulled up at the house. "Well", he said, "it's time to get over that right now." He gave me a peck on the cheek, put on a brave face and led me into the melee.

I met and mingled and visited with everyone. Joe's sisters and sisters in law were trying to make me feel comfortable and kept handing me glasses of wine, which I would either hand to Joe to drink or I would put down and conveniently misplace. I was the newest family member, next to the grandchildren in more than 10 years, yet they each remembered what it was like to try to assimilate into a family. Now that I think of it, I guess short of a spouse dying and being 'replaced' I guess I'm the last one to fall into place. The puzzle of this generation of the Morelli Mob is now complete.

Just before dinner, I glanced out the back door to the gazebo, where Joe and I said our vows just a few weeks earlier and saw him out there with 'the boys'. I was reminded what a great guy I had married and felt a wash of emotion as I focused on his mannerisms and his overt masculinity. Then I saw a cigarette in his hand. What is he doing? Joe doesn't smoke. I hate cigarette smoke. Ick. He was puffing and fuming away and talking with his hands, cigarette and all and I thought, 'who is this guy'? Do I know anything about this man? I have known him for over 30 years and I didn't think I'd ever seen him with a cigarette before. I'm sure he had smoked in high school with all the other thugs but I really didn't remember seeing it. He smokes and he has money in the bank. What have I done? I seriously thought I was about to melt down.

When he came back in the house, I confronted him privately in the hallway. "What the hell do you think you are doing? When did you start smoking?"

He **almost** looked embarrassed but not really. "I started smoking when I was about 10. I stopped smoking when I was 27. I only smoke now when I'm around Marc. It keeps me from beating the shit out of him." He smiled at me. He leaned in for a kiss, but all I could smell was cigarette smoke. I put my hand over my mouth and ran for the bathroom. Smells seemed to really be getting to me these days. I'd opened the refrigerator door this afternoon and realized too late that it was a mistake. I felt sick for a few minutes but it passed. Joe was chewing gum when I came back out. He apologized and said he'd try to be more considerate in the future.

We settled in for dinner. All of the grown-ups were parked around the table in the dining room and it was completely packed with each of us having about 14 inches of space. Our chairs were literally touching each other. This room and table were made for about 8 people and we had 12 around the table. In addition to the 12 adults, there were 11 'children' from age 20 down to about 5 scattered at kid's tables throughout the house. Then, there was Bob who was going person to person seeking donations.

Everyone in the entire family seemed comfortable and happy to be together and everyone seemed to love each other as well as all of the kids. It was a happy family and a wonderful night. Joe proudly announced our child's coming and everyone erupted in well-wishes, toasts and happy smiles, predictably except Mary. Her huge brown eyes filled with tears. Stewart had an 'oh shit' look on his face and knew that he was in for a long night. Mary tried to convince me they were tears of happiness but I realized they were not. She so wanted a child of her own.

Something that came easily, even accidentally, to us, had eluded her for many years. How could something that forced me into panic be the same news that would have brightened her life forever? I felt guilty for not being happier sooner about our baby, Muffin. He really was truly a gift. This baby was proof that I loved Joe and he loved me. This was more than just a physical thing. Joe and I loved each other. We'd always been meant to be together but it took both of us a long time to grow up and understand that.

The wine flowed freely and the food bridged any gaps the inhabitants of the home felt. It was wonderful. I felt like a lucky girl to be part of it all. I was only mildly embarrassed by all the jibes everyone took at us about how we got pregnant and what children do to your sex life.

It was almost time for dessert when the dinner conversation took an interesting turn. The family was reminiscing about Joe's childhood and young adulthood that brought him to this point. While everyone agreed he'd make a great father, I think they questioned how he'd ever lived this long after being a wise-ass street thug. Tony summed it up when he said now that Joe was just a wise-ass Vice cop. Finally, Kathy said, laughingly, "I can't believe you even lived after all those times Terri shot you."

Between sips of red wine, my charming husband laughed and said, "K, Terri just shot **at** me a few times. There's a difference between shooting someone and shooting at someone. If she'd wanted to, she would have hit me. Terri's a damn good shot." He was smiling broadly. Then I think he realized that I wouldn't be happy about hearing Terri's name. His face sobered.

"What did so do that made Terri shoot at you?" I asked him with my eyebrows shot up 3 inches.

He looked at me and said. "With Terri, it's always about what I didn't do, not about what I did do. Besides, I probably usually deserved it when she shot at me. Sort of like I deserved it when you hit me with your dad's car and broke my leg."

I noticed that Mary, Barbara and Kathy looked at each other and their eyes lit up. They all jumped from their chairs simultaneously and ran to embrace me. I had no idea what was happening until I was already sandwiched between them all in a strong hug and Mary said, "It was YOU! We've wanted to congratulate the girl that broke Joe's leg for YEARS.   
We didn't know it was you! This is so CUTE! We knew there were probably hundreds of girls who wanted to run over our baby brother with a car but we knew the one that actually did it was going to make an impression and now you are married and having a BABY!" This pronunciation brought on a fresh onslaught of tears from Mary, but they seemed like happier tears than they were earlier because she, Barbara and Kathy were all laughing.

Joe had a considerable amount of wine so he handed me the keys to take us home. I don't think he was drunk, but he wasn't taking any chances. I must admit, as Joe Morelli gathered me into his arms at our home that evening, I felt lucky. I was lucky to be his wife, lucky to be the mother of his child, and lucky to have made it through a full evening with his family. Our great evening soured because I didn't know when to keep my mouth shut.

"What the hell do you mean, I never asked you to marry me?" Joe shouted. "Of course I asked you to marry me. Otherwise, how do you explain that big wedding we had in my mother's backyard? I specifically remember about 6 months ago, you said, 'Let's get married on June 3rd at 7 in the evening.' I said, 'okay,' and to everyone's surprise, you actually showed up at my mom's house and so did I along with about 200 of our closest friends and relatives. I'm pretty sure I had to ask you to marry me or that wouldn't have happened." Joe was standing up and pacing and raking his fingers through his hair. His eyes were tired looking and seemed to have a bit of fire in them. I hadn't really intended for this to be such a big deal.

It all started when he was trying to get me to stop worrying about he and Terri Gilman needing to 'look and act like' a couple in Detroit. I'd asked exactly what that meant and asked for clarification on a few details. Unfortunately, he was trying to prove that he loved me and it backfired a little bit. He had said, 'Cupcake, I had to ask you to marry me a lot of times before you said yes, but I promise Terri Gilman has proposed to me more times than that. If I wanted to be with her, I could have been, but I love you. You are the only girl for me and the only one I have ever asked to marry me. I don't think I've even told anyone else that I loved them before you.'

Of course, I popped off when I shouldn't have and I said, 'You never asked me to marry you.' This is what started Joe on his ranting, pacing and mumbling speech that was still in progress.

I reminded him, "You never **asked me** to marry you. You talked about us getting married. Your mother asked if we were getting married and you said 'yes' and anytime anyone else mentioned it you would talk like you'd asked me, but basically, you left out that little step. The only person who has ever asked me to marry him is Dicky Orr. After you talked about us getting married for so long, then you stopped for a while. You still never asked. Then I had to wait until you mentioned it again to tell you I was ready. No engagement ring. No proposal. It's awfully hard to tell people you are engaged without those two little things. All my family thought I was delusional. I was just going on the assumption that you meant it when you said you could come to the wedding if I planned one." I'd held it in long enough.

"Shit, Stephanie, if I was screwing this up, why didn't you tell me? I'm only going to do it once. If you wanted it to be different, you should have told me when I could have corrected it."

"I'm not saying I wanted it different or that you screwed it up. I'm just setting the record straight. You just never actually **asked** me to marry you. That's all. But Terri Gilman asked you, huh?" I tried to steer the conversation in another direction.

"I think so," he said thoughtfully. "I'm not sure anymore." He sat down next to me and furiously surfed channels for a few minutes. Then he turned the TV off and used a finger on my chin to direct my eyes to his. "Listen, honey, we need to make this marriage work. For that to happen, you have to stop giving me credit for thinking about things more than I do. If you wanted me to do the proposal differently you should have told me."

I was starting to squirm in my seat. I really hadn't meant this to be one of 'those' discussions. I'd been married before and knew that these discussions never turned out well. When a man actually looks you in the eyes, he is serious. You should never go there unless there was a really big problem.

Joe continued, "One of the best things about you and me is that we don't typically expect a lot of over the top stuff from each other. The bigger issue is going to be when you need me to do something that I'm clueless about. I've heard Mary and Kathy complain for years about how their husbands don't pay enough attention to them. They think Stewie and Mike are supposed to be mind readers. I hate to let you in on this, but guys just don't think that hard unless we have some reason to." He was pacing again at this point and that was a good thing since he wasn't doing the eye staring thing anymore.

"I was the happiest guy in the world when you finally said you'd marry me. I just didn't think it would ever really happen, so I'd tried to quit pressuring you. I didn't know you were waiting for me to do it 'right'. Hell, I didn't know there was a **right** way to do it. I remember being a little kid one time when Mary and Mom were talking about how every little girl wanted some guy on a white horse to ride up and rescue her. At that time, I remember thinking I'd never even seen a white horse and I didn't know what they needed to be rescued from. Shit, when I became really aware of you in high school, I probably thought 'now that looks like a girl who isn't looking for a white horse.' But you were obviously looking for it and I missed it."

Joe was really on a roll. He was using his hands and talking to the ceiling a lot. I was just another piece of furniture at this point. This is a real Italian soliloquy. "You have to tell me that kind of crap! If something is important enough for you to bring it up after the fact, it needs to be important enough to bring up before you feel like I screwed something up. When I took you to pick out wedding rings I was surprised you didn't pick out a set with an engagement ring, but you seemed to like these bands okay." He was right; I loved the simplicity of our matching gold wedding bands.

"I can't fix it now, but when I come home I promise you I'll take you to pick out an engagement ring. I honestly didn't have a clue you wanted one. I guess I should have." He looked a little defeated. Now he was looking at the floor and I couldn't see his eyes because of his damn hair.

Joe didn't have a romantic bone in his body, but he seemed to be apologizing for it now. I was flattered. He'd gotten by all these years with all the sexy bones in his body. He had plenty of those.

"Oh, Joe," I said, "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or to tell you that I felt like I'd missed something. There are just times when you wish your husband really 'knew you' well enough to just know what you want without you having to tell him. That's all."

"Do you want to know if I know you? Is that it?" He had brushed his hair back. He winked, put on his sexiest pair of dark, dark brown eyes and sought out the depths of my soul with them. Then he said, "I think I know you pretty well. I know exactly what you want to do right now. You want to go upstairs and take off all your clothes, including your undies and then you want to put on my orange t-shirt that's even too big for me and my red sweats that have the elastic cut out at the legs. They are too long for you and they just flop over your feet like slippers. You want to put your hair in a pony tail and you want to wander into the kitchen hoping to find that a bag of Boston crèmes has magically appeared on the kitchen counter, which it has because I brought them home for you at lunch, by the way. Then you will come back here and tell me it's time to put Bob outside on his backyard leash."

I was smiling. He was perfectly right so far. "I know you are just dying to steal my Corona, and if you weren't pregnant, you would already have figured out how to take it away from me and I would have had to go get myself another one out of the fridge." He took a big pull on the beer and then kissed me deeply, sharing the taste with me that I missed so much. "Any other guy would have learned this was coming and just started bringing you your own bottle, but I think it's cute that you work so hard to swipe mine." There's that smile again. He was melting my heart.

"Then, you'll curl up and snooze in this warm spot that I have left on the sofa while I go upstairs and take a shower. Next, you want me to come pick you up and carry you upstairs to bed." Joe was still looking into my eyes and reading me like a book.

"You will have brushed your teeth and left your clothes in the bathroom floor by the time I get back upstairs with Bob. Since we've seen my family this evening, I owe you. So I'll walk in the bedroom door and stop to admire your incredible body and then you'll announce that, since I owe you, and all, you get to be on top. You still like to wrestle for it, so I'll try to take over, but then I'll let you win." He was chuckling and looking so sexy. He really did know me. And he loved me anyway.

"So, do you forgive me for being a clueless man?" He ran his thumb across the side of my neck, sending tingles down my spine and then he kissed me again.

"As long as you'll forgive me for being an unreasonable woman." I hugged him close to me. I was thinking it was time to skip the middle and go straight to the end of his prediction.

Something about my pregnancy has made me feel like more of a woman than I've ever felt before. I notice more details. I am more frilly and fragile feeling. I feel less independent. As much as I hope it is temporary I think I it is normal and Joe notices it, too. He is more communicative and clingy with me. We both feel a little off center and we don't know how to fix it. It isn't a bad feeling, but it will take some time to get used to it. Time is the one thing we don't have much of.

He caught my hand before I went to put on his t-shirt and sweats, "Now, Cupcake, I do think I know you, but I don't know crap about jewelry. I've never seen you wear a ring in my life until the wedding ring you picked out. Just because I could pick a t-shirt or a pair of sweats for you, doesn't mean I could pick out a ring that you have to wear forever. That's why I took you to do it instead. More importantly, you have to tell me if I'm screwing up from now on." He did the eye searching thing again. "Are we okay?"

Those are the last words he got out that evening. I basically just led him upstairs and reassured him that everything between us was wonderful.

When we get up tomorrow morning, there are 5 days left before Joe leaves and we need to make the most of them.


	7. Chapter 7

Undercover 7

When we woke up the next morning, I reminded myself that I had 5 days to get ready for Joe leaving. Who knows when I'd really see him again? Life seldom goes as planned. What if our child was 5 years old before Joe came home? I needed to figure some things out.

The doctor had given us February 26th as my preliminary due date. He'd also reminded me that I needed to eat better than I had been for my entire life to this point and I also needed to exercise more. I hate that.

I had told Vinnie, Connie and Lula about the baby and the due date yesterday. They were all thrilled for us and equally thrilled that someone would be able to relieve each of them for their vacations this year. They each had chosen a week between October and January so that I could take over their responsibilities after we all figured I'd need to stop chasing skips for a while. I told them that I would need to take off a few days in October and in December probably but I'd have to wait to get things clarified before I knew exactly what dates.

I think that was the first time I faced the fact that it was highly likely that Joe was going to still be gone at Christmas. It would be our first Christmas as a married couple and our only one before we would have children in the house and he would be gone. This was a sobering thought. However, I realized I was so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family members. As sad as I was to know that Joe was getting ready to leave, I just didn't feel sad. I felt, sorry, maybe that he would have to miss all of this, but I was too happy to be sad.

Joe had suggested a number of people for my birthing coach in case he wasn't here for the big event, all the while insisting that he would be. His list included my sister, Valerie, his sister, Mary (as hard as it would be for her, she would be honored, he insisted), either of our mothers (yeah, right, I said – that was WAY too much information for me to share with either of our mothers), Mary Lou (my first choice) and, surprisingly, his buddy, Dunphy. Joe said that he and Dunphy had both been involved in a number of births while they were in uniform, but that Dunphy, while a father of two, had never hung around long enough to actually be there for the birth. Dunphy still hasn't owned up to the fact that there's more to being a father than just sending a check in the mail every month.

I'm not entirely convinced I even want Joe to be there for the childbirth. I don't want him to see any of that stuff happen with me. I'm the one who doesn't like to share a bathroom. I couldn't imagine wanting anyone else there to see me at my worst. At least it was Joe's fault. Why punish anyone else for Joe's inability to control himself?

Yet I was going to go with Mary Lou. I'd use Valerie as a last resort, just in case. At least neither of them needed to learn much about it. They had each been there.

I went to work and found a couple of new files on Connie's desk. Both of them were relatively benign offenders and I was able to apprehend them with only a little bit of verbal wrangling. News had reached the criminal community that I was pregnant and I even got a couple of 'congratulations' out of my regulars when I ran into them that morning.

As much as I tried not to think about my husband and Terri in Detroit, I just couldn't leave it alone. I broached the subject again. "Okay, Joe." I said, over lunch at home, "I have asked you and you have tried everything to divert my attention. What 'exactly' does 'look and act like a couple' mean?" My eyes found his and he looked away.

He sighed and looked at his hands on the table. "Well, it means Terri and I will live together in a one-bedroom place. And we will have to go out together and, while we are in public, we'll need to look like a couple. You know, probably holding hands and looking chummy. Not a big thing. We'll share a bed, I will clarify since I can see your eyes. We will each stay on our own side, of the bed and just sleep there together but," now he was searching my eyes again, "you have to believe me and trust me. I won't be having sex with her. Okay? We really feel that Takata's gang will bug our little hacienda, especially the bedroom because they will expect to learn a lot from pillow talk. We'll have scripts to follow to feed them information and to try to bait them into action. If we need to tell each other something that we don't need them to hear, we'll write messages. Terri and I have done this before. It's nothing new to us. I just wasn't married to you the last time."

I was looking back into those brown eyes that I loved and trusted. "Joe, if they are listening to pillow talk, won't they be listening, or noticing if they don't hear…..you know….more than pillow talk?" He knew what I meant. Terri Gilman was pretty. Those guys would be straining their ears to hear if Joe was making her scream like a banshee.

"Yeah. I'm sure they will. Here's the thing. Drug addicts often have a hard time 'performing', you know, sexually? Sometimes it just doesn't work." He was looking at me with sexy eyes and I knew he was fully functional. "Often, they need to resort to outside stimuli to try to get it all together. That being the case we'll have a nicely stocked DVD collection of porn for Terri's full solo enjoyment and our friend's listening pleasure. They won't know what sounds are on the TV and what sounds are live." I didn't like where this was heading.

"And where will you be during this performance?" I'd seen Joe's response to video porn. It wasn't like he didn't notice it was playing.

"I'll go in the other room."

"Okay, I'm not stupid. You are a horn dog. You are not going to convince me that you are going to be hearing porn and knowing that Terri is taking care of business in there and not get a bit….needy." I was starting to panic again. I was aware that Joe's needs came often. Like multiple times a day.

"Well, I'd like you to meet my good friend, Jennie." He said, holding up his right hand. "Jennie and I have been together since you were 6 and playing choo-choo with me in my garage. She has served me well over the years and is always in a friendly mood. She is never on the rag and never wants much from me other than maybe a little lotion periodically." Okay, he still didn't look embarrassed. I certainly was embarrassed. And I was livid.

"Are you telling me that you and Terri Gilman are going to both masturbate to porn together every day and that I am supposed to believe that nothing else is going to happen for months on end?" As usual, where Terri is concerned, this question was asked at the very top of my vocal capacity.

"Honey, Terri and I have been 'friends' for a long time. A helluva lot longer than you and I have been together. We're pretty damn comfortable with each other. I guarantee you she can't show me anything I haven't seen before unless she's had some sort of freakish surgery. I'm not Bill Clinton. I know what is considered sex. And I won't do it with Gilman, okay?"

"WHAT? Are you serious? Is the fact that you've seen it all supposed to make me feel better? You've seen it on me, too, but it doesn't stop you from wanting to touch it again." However, I had no other alternative to suggest. "That is obviously cheating. Especially if she helps you, which I'm sure she will. She knows you. She knows which buttons to push to turn you on, off and inside out. If you know she's in their doing that, and she knows you are in the other room doing that, well, I don't want to talk about it."

Okay, he found this conversation amusing. He was laughing now. "I was trying not to talk about it. She isn't going to help me. I have Jennie, remember? I don't exactly need help. I'm just telling you the answer to your question. Okay? Don't ask me if you don't want to know."

My mind was running amuck. I had another question but I wasn't sure if I wanted to know. "How 'comfortable' are you with Terri?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" He said, now trying to unhook my bra. Obviously, our conversation had started his engine. The funny part was he must have a meeting or something after lunch so he was watching the clock and trying to multitask. He was still eating a sandwich with his right hand and he was trying to use his left hand on my bra. He obviously wasn't practiced in the left handed technique and he was fumbling a bit. Joe was sort of like Fonzie from Happy Days. He just looked at a bra and it was supposed to fall off.

"You said that you and Terri have been friends for a long time and that you are comfortable with each other. How comfortable are you?" I thought this was a reasonable question.

He looked pained. It was like I had started another one of those conversations without understanding what I was doing. I knew. I just didn't care at this point. "Cupcake, I don't know if you had a friend like Terri was to me when you were growing up. Today, the teenagers call them 'friends with benefits'. That sort of means 'no strings'. You know, we just sort of grew up together, sexually, and everything else. We experimented on each other and we learned a lot about the opposite sex from each other. I don't remember a time when Terri wasn't around. Our dads were friends. Her and her sisters were always at our house. When I had sex with Terri, it was almost like incest. I just didn't think of her as a girlfriend. She was more of a sister or a cousin or something."

This was a bizarre confession. I'd always thought of them as a couple. I'm positive that Terri thought of them as a couple, even now. She always wanted to marry Joe. She'd as much as said so a hundred times. Joe must have seen the doubt on my face. 

Joe said by way of explanation, "Honey, I know Terri feels differently. I'm just telling you about how I feel about her. Terri's always just been convenient. She's just always sort of been there. If I wasn't dating anyone else and I didn't want to invite Jennie out to dinner, I took Terri. I feel about as close to her as I do to my brother Tony. It's about the same. I'm a little protective and a little curious in the sort of way you are curious about a train wreck and that's it. I don't know how to make it any clearer to you than that."

"A little protective and a little curious." I repeated, like they were words I was unfamiliar with. "That's interesting." My eyebrows were knitted together and I was trying to make sense of this.

"If it makes you feel any better, she says I was an idiot for not picking out or giving you an engagement ring. I asked her this morning. She said I was stupid and should have done it right." By now, my bra was off, along with my shirt and Joe was trying to lead me up the stairs. I really didn't want to go up there as long as we were still talking about Gilman, so I stopped moving.

"You talked to her about it?" I said. "Why?"

"Well, like I just said, we're friends. I can usually get a woman's point of view from her."

"Uh, Joe, just a minute ago you were comparing her to your brother Tony. Why is she suddenly a woman?" I felt a prick of jealousy at the base of my stiffened spine.

"Oh, crap. This isn't going to happen, is it? I may as well go on back to work." He pulled me back to the kitchen by my hand, skipped the bra but dumped my t-shirt back over my head and gave me a dismissive kiss as he walked out the back door. He started the Duc and left the yard without another look back at me. I guess it's a good think he had Jennie with him.

I'd wanted to ask him when the last time was that he and Terri were 'friendly' but he said that if I didn't want to know the answers to questions that I shouldn't ask.

I spent the rest of the afternoon upstair in our home office trying to assess my own financial situation. I wanted to try to get as many of my personal bills paid off before I had to stop working skips due to my pregnancy. Most of the cases that I worked netted me in the hundreds of dollars, and not the thousands, so it would still take a lot of luck and hard work to get me in the black. Joe had told me that all the regular monthly bills could come from his paycheck so that meant I could apply what I made to my own bills guilt free.

I was working on a sort of a payment schedule for everything when the doorbell rang. It was Jerry Joanasin. He was a skip I'd been looking for but not having much luck. "Hello, Jerry." I said, when I cautiously opened the door. "What's up? Why are you here?" I was suspicious. Skips don't usually track me down.

Jerry replied, "I come to turn myself in. My wife is all PMS and I figure jail is better than home. Maybe she be better by the time I get out."

I couldn't argue with that logic. I left him at my front door and ran to get my purse. Today was looking up. Jerry's bond was set at $5000 for aggravated kidnapping of an adult. He basically had kept a hooker tied up (literally) in a hotel room longer than her pimp appreciated for the money he'd paid. This apprehension would gain me $500 to start on my payment schedule. Bob had his nose buried in Jerry's crotch when I got back to the door. Jerry didn't look particularly upset by it. It was probably the most action he'd had in a while.

Jerry was docile. All was going so well, until I met up with a guy I'd hauled in a year ago. He was going up the same stairs that Jerry and I were going down at the Police Department. I didn't really even remember his name. I don't think he meant to hurt me, but he just wanted to make me look stupid. He tripped me as I was walking Jerry down the stairs to get my body receipt. I tumbled down a full flight and whacked my head against the cinder block wall at the bottom. On the way down, I had tried everything to break my fall and ended up with, not only a concussion, but a severely strained right wrist. A couple of guys I knew saw it happen and one grabbed the guy who caused it while the other told me to lay still and called Joe, who was upstairs in his office. I was pretty shaken up and was happy to see Joe thundering down the stairs to see if I was okay. I was lucky he was in the office at that moment.

I passed Jerry off to Carl, a cop buddy of mine and before Joe carefully put me in the car to drive me to the hospital Carl brought me my body receipt for Jerry. Joe was terrified about the baby. I really felt like everything down there was okay. My wrist hurt like a son of a bitch and my head wasn't much better, but I'd landed on my butt for the most part and there's plenty of padding there to absorb the shock.

Two hours later, the ER doctor confirmed my suspicions. I had a mild concussion, a badly sprained wrist, and a perfectly healthy baby in my uterus. Joe was starting to get the color back in his face. He, once again, said he didn't think he could go on the undercover operation. I chose to ignore him and hope he would chill out about it.

I felt bad about the way lunch had gone, so I asked him to stop on the way home. We picked up Joe's favorite bread and some cookies for dessert. We also got some fresh vegetables and pork chops. However, this meant Joe would have to cook, but he seemed to like doing it.

I hung out with him in the kitchen while he busied himself cutting up vegetables and marinating the meat. I set the table with one hand and asked him about baby names. He was in a happy mood, probably glad that our conversation was on a lighter subject than it had been in the last couple of days. He said he didn't have any favorite names or any that he hated, so I should maybe come up with a list of the ones I liked and we'd talk about it when I came to apprehend him in October. It was August now so that was two months away. It seemed like an eternity.

He asked me, "Which of the upstairs rooms do you want to give the baby?" He commented on the fact that he had been able to spend a little more time at home since setting up his home office. I definitely wanted to keep it, so I opted to give up the spare bedroom. Besides, if you don't have a spare bedroom, chances are you won't have spare people coming to stay with you very much. He thought this was a smart observation and agreed. "I'll get the bed out of the spare room tonight so that you'll have room to get it set up the way you want it for the baby while I'm gone. If you need someone to carry furniture upstairs, call Dunphy."

He went outside to start the grill. Upon coming back in, he said, "If you find any other furniture you like, you know, for the living room or something while you are looking for baby furniture, you should get it. What we have now is just hand-me-downs from my family. I never really tried to decorate and nothing matches."

I was not a decorator by any stretch of the imagination. If I decided to do anything, I would take my sister Valerie with me. She was good at that kind of stuff.

"So," I started a new conversation, "tell me what you know about Takata. What type of vice purveyor is he? Drugs, guns, illegal gambling, what?"

Joe was used to me being curious about his cases. He shifted easily into the subject. "From what I can tell, he underwrites a number of methamphetamine labs and then performs extortion on any high brow users that his pushers sell to. Tommy's not exactly a businessman. I think his common law wife, Sara Genieve, is really the brains of the family. I haven't been able to get a good bead on what threat they are imposing if they try to move into Trenton. That's what prompted Terri to want to be involved. She wants to protect her family's territory, but I don't know what the connection is. Her family doesn't seem to worry about the drug runners in Trenton, so Takata must have his hand in some business I am unaware of."

"I found a common thread, though. There is a guy serving a life sentence for killing a cop in Oregon. He was, at one point, with the Grizolli's and then it was rumored that he was either Tommy Takata's right hand man or vice versa. I think he ties in somehow but I don't know exactly how. I think Terri does, so I hope that's part of the information she wants to trade me for being her cover and protection in Detroit."

Joe brought all the food in off of the grill and put it on the table in front of us. It looked and smelled great. So did Joe. He was cutting my meat up for me because my right hand was useless. He pushed my plate over to me and started eating himself. I took one bite and it tasted good, but then it turned on me and I spent the next half hour in the bathroom losing my lunch.

I ended up eating strawberry ice cream for dinner. Joe said that Bob felt very fortunate to get my pork chop as well as his own. The way I felt, I'd never even consider eating a pork chop for the rest of my life as long as I lived.

As we climbed into bed, Joe eyed the splint on my right hand, which would be between us if we slept on the sides we usually do. He got up and walked around to the other side of the bed and motioned for me to move to his side so that he wouldn't accidentally roll on to my arm or hurt me.

I do not know when I am going to learn my lesson. I guess the day was just catching up with me. I couldn't sleep on this side of the bed. I couldn't get comfortable because my arm hurt and I was sore from the fall. My mind wanted to have sex but my body didn't feel like it and besides, Joe was already almost asleep. So, I picked a fight.

"What side of the bed does Terri sleep on?" He opened one eye and sat up using his elbow for a prop.

"She used to sleep on whatever side I was on. Do you really want to do this? Do you really want to spend our last few days together fighting? Dammit! I told you if you didn't want me to go, all you have to do is say so." He was mad. He was more than mad. He was furious. He continued, "Do you know what it is like to be accused of something you didn't do? I have never, I mean NEVER, cheated on you or anybody else." He was out of the bed now and getting dressed.

"Where are you going? Come on, get back in bed." I said, laying back down.

"No. I need to get out of here. I am so damn mad. You want me to screw around on you? Fine. I guarantee you I can. It isn't a problem for me to find someone who will happily lead me to her bed." He paused for effect, I guess. "I won't do that, but I could. At least then you would be justified to accuse me." I could see the neighbor's lights flipping on because he was bellowing by now. He saw it, too, and lowered his voice, but it was still trembling with anger. "I know it's hard for you. I know that Dickie screwed around on you. I'm not Dickie. Give me some credit. I haven't been with anyone else since the first time you moved in here with me. You moved out and then in and then out but I stayed faithful to you, even when we were broken up." I guess the surprise was registering on my face. He had stayed faithful. I hadn't. "Surprised? Yeah? Well, don't be. I keep telling you I love you. I don't know what I'd do if I screwed it up and lost you, but I don't have to hang around here and have you accuse me of doing something that you know damn well I wouldn't do. I'll call you every couple of hours to wake you up to check on your concussion." He grabbed the orange t-shirt off the bathroom floor and stalked down the stairs. I was in hot pursuit.

"Joe, I'm sorry. Come back. I promise I won't bring it up again. I trust you." I wasn't crying but I was scared. I didn't want him to leave. Where would he go? What would he do? "C'mon, Joe. Please?"

I was answered in the form of the back door slamming shut and the Ducati starting. I sat down on the stairs. We had never fought like this before. Joe never left. I was always the one who took off to avoid facing my troubles. I knew what this was. Joe's family had been marred for generations by domestic violence. Joe said that both of his brothers had hit their wives from time to time, Marc more often than Tony. Kathy had married a batterer, but Mike got help early on and their marriage had stabilized. I had to deal with the fact that tonight I found Joe's limit. I'm sure he was protecting me by leaving. Joe was a strong man, mentally even more than physically and he had overcome so many of the demons in his life. He loved me enough to leave me instead of hitting me. I owed him a real apology. I hadn't been easy to live with lately. I'd been feeling sorry for myself and maybe I thought it was easier to send him away if I didn't love him so much.

Unfortunately, I love him with all my heart and soul. Or maybe that is 'fortunately'. I hung out on the sofa downstairs, hoping he'd come home. The phone rang, as promised, in 2 hours. I jumped at the telephone. "Joe?" I answered.

"Sorry, friend, just me. Are you okay, having pains in your neck or back?" Dunphy.

"No, not okay, not having pains in my neck or back. Where's Joe?" I demanded.

"I need you to go to a mirror and check your pupils to see if they are equally dilated." He was ignoring my question.

"Is Joe okay? Just tell me that." I pleaded.

"Do I have to come check your eyes myself, or are you going to cooperate?" This man had no patience for me.

"Okay. Yes, they are fine." I hadn't moved a muscle.

"Okay, now get up and go look at them in the mirror and then tell me if they are fine. Don't play with me. It's late and we have to do this again in two hours." I did as he told me to do.

"Yes, they are really fine. Seriously, tell Joe to come home." I was so sorry I did this.

"No can do, friend. He's incommunicado right now. He's fine. He mumbled something like I should tell you he's at Terri Gilman's house if you asked, but he's really not. Talk to you in a couple of hours."

I am such a dope. I can't believe this. 3 days left before he goes undercover and I pick the fight of the century.

Dunphy called again in two hours. I'd fallen asleep on the sofa. I looked at my eyes and they were fine. They were equally bloodshot.

The next time I woke, Joe was hauling me up the stairs to put me in our bed. The way Dunphy had talked, I thought Joe may have been drunk and passed out at his place, but he was showing no signs of it if that was the case.

"Hey, do you remember what used to be built on the lot where the Duncan Donuts on Clark is now?" He asked.

"Are you assessing my concussion or just checking some facts?" I smiled at him. I'm so glad he was home. I grabbed his neck and pulled him to me for a kiss. He asked his question again.

So much for make up sex. I blew out a sigh. "No, I don't remember. What was it?"

"I can't remember either. I was reading through an old file on Tommy Takata's wifey-poo and I found that address as a contact point for her. It was in 1980. Duncan Donuts went in there in 1990, don't ask me how I know that. You don't want to know. I don't have any recollection of what was there. I'll call my mom once the sun comes up." He was pulling his shirt off over his head and I thought my chances for make up sex were looking better, until he headed to the bathroom and turned on the shower.

I followed him in there. He took the opportunity to check my pupils and then stepped into the shower. I pulled off the t-shirt I was sleeping in, and followed him. "Joe, I'm really sorry. It was really unfair of me to do that to you. You are right. You didn't deserve it and I had no reason to do it."

His eyes were locked on mine. "You're right." He smiled. "I accept your apology. If you bring it up again, I'm canceling the operation and getting a marriage counselor and making you go every day until you feel better about us."

He bent to remove the splint from my wrist, so it wouldn't get wet. He reminded me to try not to flex my wrist much. He didn't need to remind me. It hurt like hell.

He turned me around and gently washed, rinsed and conditioned my hair for me. He lathered my entire body up with my little fluffy pink scrubby puff and rinsed me off. He paid particular attention to the spots that made me breathe more deeply. To further our foreplay in a new way, I reminded him that I had never had to shave left-handed and he may need to help me out there. He did so happily and with great enthusiasm, paying particular attention to his favorite haunts. The hot water was running out so he washed his own hair and body quickly and then he dried us both off, wrapped my hair in a towel and began to kiss me. I was responding enthusiastically. I was relatively useless with my left hand, but I managed to wrap it around him and found that I could use that part of him as a handle to pull him into our bedroom with me.

He put the splint back on my wrist and I willingly surrendered the ever-coveted top position to him. Soon, he moved his body down to the foot of the bed. He began to make love to me by kissing the soles of my feet. Continuing up my ankles, calves, and being diverted to my knees for a moment. My hands were tangled in his damp hair and I was anticipating the path he would take to eventually reach my mouth with his.

He spread my legs and nibbled up the insides of my thighs. I was so ready to receive him. I ached to feel his touch. He didn't disappoint. First his hands and fingers, then his lips and tongue, played me like an instrument. I came hard against his face. He continued his ascent up my body, stopping wordlessly at my swelling bosom. He kissed, tongued, suckled and nipped at my nipples. By the time he reached my neck, I was frantic to feel him inside me. I tried to guide him into me, but he resisted by moving away and working those slow kisses down my arms to my elbows and eventually to my palms and the fingertips of my left hand – the one without the splint.

He was throbbing and I could see the urgency on his face. This time when I captured him with my left hand, he didn't resist. I was so ready for him, he slid in to the hilt effortlessly. He froze in that position, his breath ragged and his eyes closed. I knew that one hip muscle twitch from me and it would all be over. I wasn't ready for it to be over, so I remained frozen in place as well. Once he started moving his body against mine I matched his rhythm. "Do it, Baby," I whispered in his ear, sinking my teeth into his shoulder and sucking at his neck and lips. "I wanna feel you come inside me." He could never resist my talking to him like this. I wrapped both legs around his waist and ground my hips hard into his groin.

A low growl started from deep inside him. He moaned and bucked hard against me before arching his back and allowing his release. He fell against me on the bed, his head on my shoulder. We lay intertwined for quite some time, and then he rose off of me, unhooked my legs from behind his waist and rolled to the side. He was still breathing hard and adoring me with his eyes.

Damn, I love makeup sex.


	8. Chapter 8

Undercover Chapter 8

We had two full days left to go before Joe was set to leave on an undercover trip which could take between four and six months. I knew it could take longer. Our child is due February 26 and, if all goes as planned he will be done with the mission and home in four months, which will make it December 14. If it was really 6 months, that would mean he'd be home around February 14, our first married Valentine's Day. Just in time to see another body pop out of mine in a very unpleasant manner. Yippee.

He'd been working overtime steadily trying to get things ready for his absence. He had cleaned out the spare bedroom upstairs, leaving only a dresser that I thought we could use for the baby. He'd fixed the garbage disposal, and the lock on the backdoor. His honey–do list was getting shorter and he was becoming increasingly worried about leaving me anyway. Who could blame him? I had taken a tumble down the stairs delivering an FTA to the Police Station and had my right hand in a splint with a bad sprang. I was tremendously impressed with how adept my husband was at putting my hair into a pony tail. His was long enough at this point to go into a pony tail as well. He looked pretty cute that way. He said if he was going to be the long-hair type he was considering getting his ear pierced. I thought this would be very sexy. Then he said he just couldn't see a dad with a piercing. I think having a baby is making him feel old.

It was making me feel old as well. In a moment of weakness, I had agreed to join the health club where Joe goes and spends half of his life, it seems. I knew I needed to get more exercise and he had arranged a meeting with a personal trainer for me so I could learn how to use the equipment and figure out what exercise regimen would be the most beneficial for me and the baby. Suddenly, all of a sudden doing the horizontal mambo wasn't enough. He wanted me to work out, too. It was really Doctor's orders. I was just being sort of pissy with Joe because he was actually asking me to do it instead of ignoring it like I wanted to.

He'd taken the day off to work on things at home with me and I'd already had a pretty good week financially after catching several skips without major difficulty, so I had no problem hanging out at home with him. We were both really homebodies at heart. We liked to get out and do things, too, but if you asked if we wanted to go on a trip, or just stay at home together, chances are we'd pick home.

On this day, Joe had brought me breakfast in bed. He'd made scrambled eggs with lots of cheese and toast with his mother's homemade plum jelly. When he brought it up to me, he was wearing sweats and no shirt. He was barefoot and his hair was a mess. I am such a lucky girl! We both hung out in bed with Bob and read the paper and then got up and showered, dressed, and were ready to go shopping for groceries when I remembered that there were some scary things in the refrigerator that should be cleaned out. I'd tried to do it the day before but the sight and smell got to me and I didn't get very far. He gallantly took care of the unpleasant task and we were again heading out the door. When we opened it, there stood his mother and Grandma Bella. "Hello. Come in," I said.

Joe shot me a look. I was varying from his schedule. That may mean no sex this afternoon and I would be in a lot of trouble if that were the case. Well, the horse was out of the barn by now, because they were both peering inside. Joe stepped up and said, "We were just heading out to the grocery store. What brings you here?" He was smiling and acting charming as always, but got the point across that we are on a schedule here!

His mother smiled and said, "You mentioned you were preparing a room for the baby. I wanted to let you know the cradle is ready for you to pick up anytime you are ready for it."

"Oh, how nice." I crooned. "You didn't have to get us a cradle. That is so sweet!" Maybe she really didn't hate me after all. Joe said she liked me, but it's hard to believe with Mrs. Morelli.

"Oh, Cupcake." Joe explained with a lot of drama in his voice for his mother's benefit. "It's a family cradle with an incredibly long story. Many generations of Morelli's have used the cradle. Just smile and say 'thank you.'"

"Thank you." I smiled like he said.

"I'll come get it this evening, okay?" He said, sort of ushering his mother and his Grandmother out the door and toward their car.

Grandma Bella had a vision, but it must not have been an important one because Joe's mom quieted her and said it was time to go. I'd never seen Grandma Bella stifle her urge to share a vision, but I guess some of them are more important than others. I'm convinced that some of them are just brought on by drinking too much wine, but I think it's too early in the day for that kind.

After Grandma Bella was settled in the car and Joe had shut her door for her, he walked around with his Mother to the driver's door and opened it. "Thank you, Sweetheart. Are you still going out of town soon?" She asked with her hand lovingly resting on his cheek. She obviously still didn't approve.

"Yeah. I'll go tomorrow night. I love you, Mom. Stephanie will need your help while I'm gone, but try not to drive her crazy, okay?" He gave her a peck on the cheek and closed her door behind her.

We had an uneventful trip to the grocery store and had just put away the last of the food when Bob barfed up a big wad of grass and Bob gunk on the kitchen floor. This caused me to barf up a big wad of Stephanie gunk on the kitchen floor. Poor Joe. He just sighed and pointed me up the stairs to go change clothes. I could hear him mumbling in Italian as he cleaned everything up. Who was going to do this after he's gone? I can't do it. It makes me sick.

I still didn't feel very well and thought I would lie down for a few minutes. I snuggled into our cozy bed. I loved this room. When Joe was cleaning up, painting and updating the rest of the house, I talked him into leaving our bedroom alone. It just felt like home. Joe's Aunt Rose had left him this house. This bedroom sports faded floral wallpaper with a green background and comfy white curtains. The air here seems more substantial than the air in the rest of the world. It's like it has more oxygen or something. Laying here filled me with a sense of loving and being loved. Joe popped his head around the corner to check on me. "Feeling okay?"

I held my hand out to him and said, "Yes. I'm sorry about the mess." He took my hand and joined me on the bed. I'd brushed my teeth and I pulled him to me for a kiss. His hands roamed over my body for a minute or two. I started to pull his t-shirt off over his head, wanting to feel his naked body next to mine. He caught my hand and stopped my forward progress.

"Hold that thought, Cupcake." He was smiling and looking all sexy and sweet. "We need to get to the gym."

"You mean I have to forgo sex for working out? I thought you were trying to make me like exercising. This is not a good way to start." I was giving him my best pout and giving it my best shot to win him over to the dark side.

"Not gonna work, Sweetie. I'm meeting Dunphy at 3 and you have a meeting with the trainer at the same time." He tossed me some clothes but I opted to choose my own. I had tried to entice myself into starting to work out by buying some really cute workout clothes once and I was determined to wear them before I was too big. I was ready pretty quickly and presented myself in the kitchen for inspection.

"Ooh. That's nice." Joe spun me around, taking care to look at the way the spandex stretched across my butt and boobs. He peeked inside my top and winked at me. I guess he was looking to see if I packed everything. "I bet you can lure me back into the bedroom after the gym." He grinned.

"Do you and Dunphy work out every day during the day?" I had never been on salary. My jobs were always hourly and when you weren't at work, you didn't get paid.

"Yeah. We both work weird hours so it's just easier to pick a time in the afternoon. It's not like I don't put in my 40 hours a week." This is a true statement. He'd worked at least 60 hours this week alone.

When we got to the gym, I was feeling pretty conspicuous. Joe didn't come here every day, but close enough. He explained that he and Dunphy did cardio three times a week and lifted weights at least twice a week. I laughed when Joe said he was worried about getting flabby in Detroit because he wouldn't be able to maintain his workout regimen. I realized quickly he was serious. I guess vanity is pretty important when you've always been good looking and hot.

Joe and Dunphy were legendary figures in this gym. They had started coming here years ago when they were in the police academy. They are both great looking guys and this gym was a source of many of their romantic conquests in the past. Also, they had both turned out to be nice men and were on the board of directors of the gym now. This status netted them some special attention and many special privileges. Everyone on the staff, of course knew them both. Since they had both been around so much for such a long period of time, they knew everything about everything. If the air conditioner was acting up, they knew where to whack it to get it started.

While everyone else had to present their keycard at the door, Joe and Dunphy were allowed to swipe their own cards in the computer and go on in. They also rang up their own purchases in the store, you know, like bottles of water and vitamins and stuff. They were on the hiring committee and oddly enough, they picked out the shirts and shorts the staff wore. When Dunphy got some poor girl pregnant who worked here several years ago, he didn't marry her, but he and Joe put in some elbow grease and enlisted other cops to turn one of the lesser used aerobics studios into a nice childcare facility and got the board to pass some bylaws that made the childcare here topnotch. It was a really nice place to work and to exercise and everyone knew it had a lot to do with Joe and Dunphy's presence. They were bonafide big shots. And they liked it.

I didn't realize it until we walked in, but Marc's mistress, Shelly, was the office manager here. Joe dropped me off with her and told her to add me to his membership. Joe didn't dislike Shelly, he just disliked the family situation. He sort of thought of her as another sister. She'd been around for a long time, afterall, and somehow in Joe's mind, that still represented loyalty and love. He gave her a peck on the cheek and went on to help one of the office staff who was having trouble with a printer.

After Shelly was done with me, she called up the personal trainer who I was to meet with. Jennifer, the 90 pound, perky blonde trainer just gushed about Joe and what a great guy he always was. She took me on a tour of the facility. There were 3 swimming pools. There was a water aerobics class going on in one of them for senior citizens and a swimming class for toddlers in another. I got a little misty eyed watching the little ones and knowing that I was growing one right now. The third pool was the only outdoor pool and it would rival any resort in Cancun for the number of young peacocks that were on display for everyone to see. I could imagine Joe had been one of those guys not all that long ago.

Jennifer handed me a class schedule that listed Yoga, Pilates, Cycle Training, and several other things that I was clueless about. She pointed out the Mommy and Me classes specifically. I hadn't told her I was pregnant and I wasn't showing yet, so I guess word has gotten around. She took me by the child-care facility and Joe was right. It was impressive. They proudly boasted that they only hired licensed child-care providers. The room was clean and bright. I thought I'd feel comfortable leaving baby Muffin here after he was born.

We finally covered the weight room where I saw Joe leaning over someone who was working on her legs. Gilman. Grrr. Okay, Stephanie, get over it. Deal with it. I was still talking to myself about it when Jennifer pointed through the windows to a large gym with several basketball goals and a boxing ring in the corner. She headed upstairs. There was an impressive display of machines which she called cardio equipment. I had no idea what that meant, but Joe had mentioned it, too, so I guessed it was a good thing.

I felt a slap on the rearend and Joe walked by on his way to his machine. Dunphy was just climbing on. "What is that machine?" I asked Jennifer.

"That's an elliptical trainer. It works on both your arms and legs. Since you aren't accustomed to doing cardio on a regular basis, I think we'll start you on the treadmill. That way, you just have to walk. Our initial goal will be for you to burn 300 calories in 30 minutes." That didn't sound hard. I could eat 300 calories in 2 minutes.

Jennifer pointed out all the other kinds of machines on the floor and then led me to a treadmill. She showed me the controls and where to hold on so it would calculate my calories. She started it and told me she'd come back and check on me in 15 minutes. I had a perfect view of Morelli. I was facing him and he was facing me with a bank of TVs in the middle. There were also rows of exercise bikes between us, so he was a good 20 yards away. He was looking mighty fine. He and Dunphy were obviously immune to the "No Horseplay" rules posted every 5 feet on the walls and they were wrestling, pushing and bumping each other like a couple of kids.

I noticed it was almost like a sign had popped up somewhere that said, "Sweaty Greek Gods Working Out Here." Every woman in the place suddenly had an overwhelming urge to use an elliptical machine. All of these scantily clad little bimbos that could be daughters to these guys were flirting with them! Joe and Dunphy had some little sign language thing going on, too. Dunphy would point out a girl walking by on the track and Joe would shake his head yes or no. He was the master of the sexy smirk. I could spot it anywhere. I couldn't figure out if they were rating the girls or what. There were a couple of little groups of two or three girls just hanging around them, flipping their blonde hair over their shoulders and preening, but not making eye contact with either man. This is ridiculous. Then Terri had to show up. She stood in front of Joe and they talked for a minute. She was wearing a little outfit that had a bare midriff. He indicated where I was and she looked over her shoulder at me. I gave a little finger wave, but I was having a hard time keeping up the pace of the treadmill. I looked down. I'd been on here for 6 minutes and I'd burned 11 calories. It has to be broken, I thought. I slowed it down like Jennifer showed me.

Joe was wearing a brown t-shirt and you could see the V of sweat forming on his chest. I was getting hot just watching him. Dunphy wasn't as athletically inclined as Joe and his shirt was already soaked. He wasn't going nearly as fast as Joe and he didn't look as happy about it either. Joe was just cruising along, talking to everyone who walked by and to Dunphy. He was in his element. He loved to sweat. The sweatier the better. I guess opposites do attract because there are many days that the only goal I have is to not break a sweat.

Terri Gilman must have been immune to the 'no horseplay' warnings as well because she suddenly leapt on Joe's machine with her left foot sharing the pedals with his right foot and then she caught Dunphy's machine with her right foot. The guys were still going different speeds and Joe took the opportunity to speed up and Dunphy slowed way down. This difference in speeds was throwing Gilman off balance and she grabbed both of their shirts to steady herself. I guess Dunphy must have a hairy back or Gilman had sharpened her nails or something because he let out a pretty good yelp. They were all three laughing when another girl jumped up on the pedal with Joe's left foot. This was a dark haired girl. I noticed that Dunphy had left the party so now Joe had a girl on each side of him and was looking fine with it.

Terri reached up with her towel and wiped Joe's brow. This was the last straw. I did what any indignant wife would do. I planted both feet, placed my hands on my hips and narrowed my eyes. Unfortunately, I forgot I was on a moving treadmill. It's a good thing I had slowed it down. The force with which I was flung off the back wasn't nearly as much as it would have been if it were still going faster. Lucky for me, Dunphy was standing behind me and caught me easily. I didn't even attract much attention. It was then that I noticed that the brunette on Joe's machine was his sister Mary. Okay. Maybe Gilman is like a sister after all.

Both women jumped off and Joe looked visibly relieved. I hadn't thought about it but I guess he'd been working pretty hard to support the three of them on the machine.

I watched while both of the hitchhikers walked away. Terri stopped and said something to one of the groups of little girls that were standing around watching the guys work out and they moved along their way. It was silly, but I was actually intimidated to walk over and talk to my husband. I finally just started walking around the track. Dunphy had switched to a machine that Jennifer had called a crosstrainer, but Joe was in the zone on the elliptical. He was not looking around at anyone anymore and a couple of people had walked over to talk to him and they had to touch him to get his attention. He really took all this very seriously.

Jennifer caught up with me. I was halfway around the track wondering if my sister would come get me if I called her since it didn't look like Joe was ready to stop anytime soon. Just as soon as I got rid of Jennifer, I'll be damned if Gilman didn't approach Joe again. This time she handed him a new towel and a new bottle of water. I guess I should have thought to do that. It was nice. Not the sort of thing a sister would do, but the sort of thing that a wife should do.

Terri joined me on the track and in no time had caught up with me. She had to slow her pace considerably to mine. "Hi, Steph. You are being such a doll about this little adventure that I cooked up for Joe and I. If I were in your shoes, I'm not sure I would be so understanding."

I looked at her, trying to judge her motives. Was she being nice or hateful? I'm gonna go with hateful. I will fight back with nice. "Well, Terri, it's hard to see him go, but I know he's anxious to help you get things settled."

"I guess the next time you see him, you'll be big as a barn, huh? I'm glad I'm not pregnant. I can't imagine letting my body go like that." Okay. Definitely hateful. Fight fire with fire.

I smiled at her as only the pregnant wife of your ex-lover could. "Joe wanted a baby even more than I did. He's thrilled about it and likes the changes it has made to my body so far. I can imagine your concern if you ever got pregnant. All that plastic surgery down the drain. Besides I don't think you could breastfeed with those implants." I'd timed my comments perfectly. Joe walked up behind me and caught my hand.

"See you, Terri." I said as I adjusted my stride to his. Okay, his cool down stride was faster than my workout stride. I was having a hard time keeping up, but he slowed down to talk to one of the front desk girls who was doing a walk through of the gym.

"Ready to go, Hotstuff?" He asked as he wiped his face off again.

"Sure." On the way in I hadn't noticed it, but there was a big pegboard on the wall just inside the club with numbered pegs for people to hang their car keys while they worked out. Joe and Dunphy didn't use numbers. They had personalized spots. Joe's had a big "M", for Morelli, I assume, and Dunphy's had a "D". Joe grabbed his keys as we were going by. I noticed that on either side of the M there were smaller letters. OH before it and HO after it.

I asked, "What are the OH and the HO for around your initial?"

Joe grinned, and chuckled, "Well, Honey, Lula works out here sometimes and she told the girls at the front that she nicknamed me Officer Hottie, so they put the OH up a couple of years ago. The HO is new. They put it up while we were on our honeymoon. I'm told it means 'hands off'."

I liked that. A warning to all the little girls. I keep saying little girls. They were probably between 16 and 25. I had been 16 when Joe took my virginity. I knew what those eyes could do to a 16 year old girl, even though he wouldn't dream of it now.

He was quiet on the way home. "I've been thinking about your suggestion involving Ranger. As much as I hate it, you are right. The only safe thing to do is to tell him myself. I left him a message today. I hope he calls me back soon so I can meet with him this evening." Joe was holding my hand as he drove. "I'm going to tell him in no uncertain terms that I am telling him as a professional courtesy and that I expect him to keep his contact with you on a professional level. I don't want to hear that he or his buddies are running your errands or moving furniture for you. We have friends for that. I don't count Ranger a friend. You okay with that plan?" I nodded my head.

Unfortunately, I didn't really consider Ranger a friend either anymore. He hadn't taken the news well that Joe and I were getting married. He had told me in no uncertain terms that he didn't want a relationship, but he also didn't want me to have one with anyone else. It had been just incredibly uncomfortable between Ranger and I. It had been pretty openly hostile between Ranger and Joe.

I'm sure a psychologist would have a field day studying the dynamics between Joe, me and Terri Gilman and then between Joe, me and Ranger, too. Joe and Terri had been 'together' in many capacities for most of their lives. I was in and out of it, for years, too, but now I just hated Gilman for still being a breathing human being. Even if she left Joe alone I think I would still be jealous. She and Joe were personal 'friends' and professional enemies who followed the adage, 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'.

As for me and Ranger, we chose to work together. I admire his abilities as a bounty hunter and security specialist. We didn't 'need' each other. I could have buddied up with someone else, but I liked him. Maybe I liked him a little too much. We'd slept together just once and it was while Joe and I were broken up, but we both decided it wasn't a good idea to pursue the relationship further.

He certainly didn't need me professionally. He had told me several times I just served as comic relief for him and his employees. Joe didn't like Ranger because he had a pretty flagrant disregard of and disrespect for the law. Unfortunately, that meant that, while Ranger may capture and bring people in, the legal system couldn't keep them behind bars because laws were broken in the process. As Ranger's protégé, I was guilty of my share of that myself. Joe pointed out that it was futile to even bring them in if it couldn't do good long term. Ranger liked the notches on his belt for the captures. Joe liked the law protecting the citizens. They were just diametrically opposed and I vacillated between them like a moth drawn by two flames.

I missed the easy camaraderie with Ranger, but I didn't miss the tension he drew me into. I'd forgotten what it was like to be in a steady, easy relationship. You know, one that wasn't constantly filled with angst and struggle. Poor Joe. That's just what he provided me and what I had NOT been providing for him lately. I made a mental note to chill. Joe deserved the life he wanted. So did I. Lucky for us, they were the same life.

I guess the exercise and then the drive combined with all the thinking had lulled me to sleep. Joe was trying to wake me up when we got home. "C'mon Cupcake. We're here. Let's go in. You can take a nap. I need to take a shower." He's right. He did need a shower. And I knew just the girl to give him one. My wrist was a little better. I think I can handle it - so to speak.

Ranger called just as we were walking in the house. Joe asked him to come by our place at 7pm, but Ranger said he was busy on a job. They settled on 9pm. I was dragging Joe toward the shower while he was talking with Ranger on the phone. He cut the call as short as he could and said, "Patience, Petunia. There's plenty to go around." He wrapped me in his big, sweaty arms and nailed me with the best kiss ever. At a very inopportune time in the shower, Joe asked, "What the hell did you say to Gilman? She was major pissed when I caught up with you on the track."

"Hmmm. I don't remember." I gave him a palms up. "Let's not talk about her right now." I was busy reminding him why he'd married me instead of her. It took me almost two hours, but I'm pretty sure he didn't care why she was mad anymore by the time I was done with him. He looked pretty damn satisfied. He was starting to make noise about being hungry. I rolled over to call Pino's. I guess he liked what he saw because he hung the phone up before I had a chance to order.

"God, your body is beautiful." He was whispering in my ear and caressing both of my breasts. "Stephanie," Joe rolled me onto my back so that I could see his face. "You know how I feel about you, don't you?"

How do you answer this question? "Yes, but tell me again," is what came from my mouth.

"I adore you. I think you are smart and beautiful. I've never seen anyone as beautiful as you." This was high praise coming from Joseph Morelli. "I have always been incredibly attracted to you, but," BUT? What does he mean 'but'?

"I've never felt this way about anyone. It's like you woke me up or something when you told me you were pregnant." I have to admit, I had no idea what he was talking about. "I knew you were special. Like you were my soulmate or something. I just didn't know what that meant until you were carrying my child." Joe wasn't a guy who would proclaim his undying love lightly.

I could tell he was grasping for the words. "I'm sorry I'm fumbling this, I just need you to know that when I say 'I love you', I mean it. I always have, but they mean even more now than they did 3 weeks ago. Those may be the only words you hear out of me in the next few weeks, but I want you to hear them often and to know that they are real. Those three words mean so much more to me than 3 words should convey."

Joe's cell phone rang. It was Dunphy. I knew Joe wouldn't have answered it for many people. Gilman was having a meltdown of a sort. Joe needed to come right away. I understood. He loved me. He loved our child and the family that we would eventually lead together. He wanted to stay with me but he couldn't. He had to go.

I encouraged him and said that I would be here when he got home. I also assured him that I would convey 'our' message to Ranger if he wasn't back by 9pm. He wasn't. He wasn't home by midnight or by 4 a.m. either. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

At 9pm sharp, our doorbell rang, not surprisingly. I really didn't feel like it was right for me to meet with Ranger alone. I didn't have a good track record with him. He could talk me into trusting him when I shouldn't. I thought about people I could trust with our secret. Joe's mom knew. My mom knew. My dad knew. Okay, I didn't have much choice. "Daddy? What are you doing? Do you have time to come over here? Alone? RIGHT NOW?" I couldn't believe I was asking.


	9. Chapter 9

Undercover - Chapter 9

I opened the door to find Ranger dressed in black SWAT. He was wearing a hat that said 'Security'. I could tell by his bulk that he had on a Kevlar vest under his jacket. He looked pretty intense. I was trying to lighten the mood and to stall until my dad could get here, so I said, "Hey, I know you and Morelli aren't the best of friends, but I'm pretty sure you don't need the armor tonight."

Ranger didn't smile. Not even a twitch.

"Come on in. Can I get you something to drink? We have beer." I continued.

"No. I'm going back to work. Where's Morelli? He asked me to meet him here." So much for the smalltalk.

About that time, my Dad came to the door. I was still holding it open, even though Ranger had walked past me into the house. I could read my Dad's thoughts. 'Maybe Stephanie needs me to kill a spider or something. No. There's the Cuban. I must be here in some official capacity as a father.' He stood up tall and entered the room with a bit of a swagger.

"Mr. Plum," Ranger acknowledged my dad with a nod of his head.

"Mr. Ranger," my dad didn't get it. I guess he thought Ranger was his last name. Oh well. Ranger didn't seem to notice.

"Let's all sit down and I'll tell you why Joe asked you to come," I said to Ranger. Everyone made themselves comfortable, including Ranger. For that to happen, he took off his jacket, the armored vest and his gun belt. He's been pretty bundled up and the evening air is not exactly cool. His dark skin is glistening over his muscles in his arms. I'm glad my Daddy is here.

Dad and I sat on the sofa while Ranger took a chair against the wall so he could keep watch on the doors. He is always wary.

"Ranger, I need to share some confidential information with you in a professional capacity." He twitched his mouth. I guess he didn't think I would have any confidential information, maybe, or that I had a professional capacity.

"Well, I'm sort of getting ahead of myself. Have you heard the good news? I'm going to have a baby." I think that's important to the story, so I thought I would tell him that upfront.

"Congratulations." He said with no display of emotion whatsoever. He hadn't answered my question. I'm sure he'd heard it from someone anyway.

"Thanks. Anyway, Joe has been called out of town on an undercover assignment and we thought you should know about it."

"Alright. How does it involve me?" Ranger asked.

This wasn't going at all like I expected it to. I thought he'd at least act interested or maybe even flattered that we thought he should know or something but he was staying as far detached as he could.

"Well," I started, "since it is undercover, Joe's going to just go missing and no one is supposed to know where he is, including me or any of our families. He's faking a drug problem and Vinnie is going to post bond not knowing that it isn't real. I'll ask for the case, of course, but I wanted you to know what was going on so that if Vinnie asks you to track Joe down, you'll know to turn him down."

"Fine. What else?" I decided not to ask Ranger to help me apprehend Joe for our second meeting. He was acting so distant and cold I really didn't want to have much more to do with him.

"That's it. We just wanted you to know what was up. Please keep it confidential."

"Of course." He rose, gathered his paraphernalia off of the floor and started for the door.

"Thanks for making time to come tonight." It was hard for me to keep Ranger at such a distance.

He didn't respond. I opened the door and he left.

Daddy was watching all of this with a sort of amused look on his face. "Is Joe still leaving tomorrow night?" He asked.

"Yes, unless something's happened to him." I bit my lip. "He went to meet with Gilman an hour ago and I haven't heard anything." I wasn't really worried. He's a big boy and can take care of himself.

"Okay, Honey. I assume you just called me over so that you wouldn't have to meet with Ranger alone. Do you need me to do anything for you while I'm here?" He put his arm around my shoulder and leaned in for a hug.

I crumbled. For the first time since all this had been going on, I just really broke down. My Daddy was just the man for this job. He gathered me into his arms and just let me sob. When I finally managed to gain a bit of control over my emotions, I managed to squeak out, "I'm scared, Daddy."

"I know, baby. I'd be worried about you if you weren't. Joe's a good man and he loves you. He'll be back here with you before you know it. He's putting a lot of faith in you to be able to handle things on your own while he's gone. I don't think your mom could have done it. You're still working, you're trying to get established in this house, and you're getting ready to start a family. We've always known you were the strong one but you never cease to amaze us. We are so proud of you."

This was the most I've heard my dad talk in my life. He's not one for open displays of affection. Bob was sleeping on the cool tile floor in the kitchen. It was getting late so Daddy thought I should let him out one last time before bed. I did and he came back in with no problem. On his best behavior for Grandpa, I suspect. Daddy made sure I was all settled and had my doors locked before he left to go home.

I felt better after crying. There's always something cathartic about that. I didn't want to go to bed without Joe, so I started my typical routine. Orange shirt, red sweats with the elastic cut out of the legs, crash on the couch. No warm Joe to snuggle into. I knew this would be my life for a few months. A year ago, I felt fine without Joe around. Now I feel half full. My mom said that's how it is supposed to be after you marry someone. They carry a big piece of your heart around in their chest and that you give away even more of it with the birth of every child. She reminded me to keep a little of it for myself. I never felt that way when I was married to Dickie. He just gave me heartburn.

I ate chocolate ice cream and watched Seinfeld reruns until I fell asleep. Joe called at 3:45a.m. "Sorry to wake you up. I just didn't want you to worry. Everything's okay but there's been a little change in plans, Cupcake. We had to move our departure date up. I'm leaving early in the morning. I'm about to go into lockup. I'm so sorry I won't get to see you again before I go. I had some very exciting plans for tomorrow and the big sendoff." I knew what kind of plans he meant. He made me smile.

"When will you and Terri leave? If I come to the station, can I see you?" I just wanted to kiss him goodbye.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Cupcake. We'll be leaving early. As soon as I can get Vinnie to move on getting the bond done we'll be out of here. Don't worry about me. You'll get some info from Dunphy periodically, but I can't promise anything. I can't wait to see you October 14. I love you."

I sighed. I knew that he loved me. "I love you, Joe."

That was it. I was heartbroken because I'd packed him a little care package of pictures of us on our honeymoon and a note from me that was slightly X rated. I really wanted him to have it, but I knew not to go against his wishes. I'll give it to him in October. I got a calendar. October 14 is 63 days away. I wasn't sad. I was just filled with anticipation. I would be 4 months and a week pregnant by then. I'd probably have a little baby bump. I didn't know when you could start feeling the baby move, but maybe I'd have a little sonogram picture or something to show Joe when I saw him.

Oh, we'd forgotten to pick up the cradle from his mother. I'd have Dunphy do it tomorrow. He'd reminded me at the gym that he would do anything I needed him to. I suspect I'll need him to do a lot. I wonder if he would clean up Bob barf off the kitchen floor. I guess we'll see about that when it's time.

I called Bob and we went upstairs to bed. It sounds really gross, but I saw that sweat soaked brown shirt Joe had worn at the gym. It was now a prized possession. It smelled like Joe. I stuffed his pillow into it like a pillowcase, and snuggled it under my head and fell into a dreamless sleep.

I didn't wake up until after 9a.m. It was eerily quiet. Bob was snoozing. No one had called. Joe had been arrested on drug related charges last night. He would have called Vinnie's bond answering service and Connie would have heard about it when she got to work at 7:30 this morning. Considering the fact that the news would be all over town by now, I figured I'd better face the day.

I got up and did the shower and hair thing. I figured I needed to look haggard given the night I supposedly would have had, so I skipped all makeup. This pregnant glowing thing wasn't at all a bad deal. Even with no makeup, I looked pretty darned cute. I put on my newest jeans and a funny little pink t-shirt that made my eyes look bloodshot.

I called my mother. "Stephanie, are you okay? My telephone hasn't stopped ringing all morning. Your grandmother went to the beauty parlor this morning and heard that Joseph was arrested," then in a whisper she added, "Isn't this a day early?"

"Yes. The plans changed last night. Tell everyone I'm fine and that I've always been strong and independent." That wasn't a lie. I just had to remember how to be strong and independent.

I wandered into the bond office around 11a.m. I could see the worry and shock on Connie's face. She rushed over to me and hugged me to her bulging breasts. Connie didn't need to be pregnant to have huge boobs. "Where's Joe? Vinnie bonded him out at 8:15 this morning. I had no idea he was using drugs."

"Neither did I. I haven't heard from him since Vinnie bonded him out." That was the truth, too. I'd decided that I would just be vague but to try not to lie. Now that I'm going to be a mother, fibbing just seems really serious. It's a shame, too, because I'm a really good liar. I think it is one of the first things that attracted Joe to me.

Lula came barging into the office like a raging bull. She was breathing fire and spitting nails. "Where is that stupid shithead?"

"Who?" I asked, assuming she meant Vinnie.

"Your husband, that's who! I can't believe he would be this stupid. He's got everything in the world going for him. How could he do this to you, especially in your condition?" She looked like she could kill him if he walked through the door.

"I'm sure it isn't as bad as it sounds," I offered, trying to make it not sound like such a big deal that my police officer husband had a drug habit and was fired. "We'll be fine. Me and the baby, I mean."

"Are you going to divorce Joe?" Connie asked, eyes wide.

"Oh, no. That's not what I meant. I mean, Joe will be fine, too. I just haven't talked to him so I don't know what else to say right now." I was stammering. I'm not very good at 'not lying', I'm much better at just making things up off the cuff.

Connie and Lula told me I should go home and see if I found him there. They asked if I'd called his cell phone. I finally just said, "You know I think it's up to him to find me. I don't have to chase him down, you know. He's got my number." I thought I sounded tough and independent. They looked at me like I was crazy.

"Well, how are you going to pay your bills? In just a few months you are going to have to stop chasing skips. Joe's been fired, or at least that's what I heard. What's up with that?" Lula asked.

"I don't know. We'll be fine. I'm not going to worry about it." More crazy stares. I went and picked up 4 new files out of Connie's box. "Are these all mine?"

"Sure. Take them. You're going to need all the help you can get," she answered.

I drove straight to my parent's house. Grandma Mazur and my Mother were standing at the front door looking out. My dad's car was gone, so I assumed he was out driving the taxi.

"Hello," I said as I entered the house. "How is everyone?"

"Tired of hearing the telephone ring." My mother responded.

Grandma asked what kind of drugs Joe was into. I told her I did not know.

My mother fed me lunch, almost forceably. She was determined since Joe wasn't here to make sure I had some good food to eat every day that she would have to become the diet police.

I set out to find my first skip after lunch. His name was Horace Howard and my paperwork said he was arrested for solicitation of an undercover cop. A male undercover cop, dressed as a male prostitute. Horace was an auto mechanics vocational school teacher. He happened to be getting out of his car just as I pulled up in the lot. I checked his picture again to be sure it was really him, and it was. "Horace Howard?" I asked.

"Yes." He responded. "Who are you?"

"Stephanie Pl….uh, Stephanie Morelli. I work for the Vincent Plum Bail Bonds agency and you missed your court date. I need to take you downtown to get you rescheduled."

"Morelli? Isn't that the name of the cop who got arrested on drug charges? Honey, if you are related to that loser, you have bigger problems than I do." He was starting to walk away.

"Mr. Howard, I'm afraid I'm going to need to take you in." I clicked one handcuff on him and tried to catch his other hand.

"Oh, no, you don't. I don't have time for this crap. I'm giving a test today in transmission repair. It's critical for the course." He jerked his arm away from me. I started looking for my gun in my purse, but I couldn't find it. I found my gas and shook the can to activate it. I normally wouldn't gas someone at this point, but I was feeling pretty cranky after the crack he made about Joe.

He'd already made it to the door of the building. I couldn't gas him inside. It would impact too many people so I ran up behind him and kicked the door shut on him while he was halfway through. It caught him by surprise, but the best part was that the swinging door whacked his cuffed wrist and the open handcuff wrapped around the bar on the door, clicking shut.   
Well, he wasn't mobile anymore. At that moment, a great wave of naseua hit me and I tossed up my lunch in the flowerbed just outside the doorway.

I called my friend Eddie Gazarra who drives a blue and white. I told him I was sick and that I needed him to come pick this guy up. He said he'd be right here.

I went to get some donuts to replace the lunch I just lost. By the time I made it to the station to pick up my body receipt, it was almost 3pm. I'd dreaded going in because everyone knew me and everyone would know what had supposedly happened with Joe. Surprisingly, no one mentioned it. No one. Not even my good friends. It's almost like all the cops knew it wasn't real, but they were honor bound not to say anything. I think is a testament to Joe's character that his friends on the police force know that he would never do such a thing to me.

I figured since I was here, I would go up to Joe's little dingy corner office upstairs to pick up some things, like his plant and a couple of pictures I wanted to have at home while he was gone. I rounded the corner and there was Dunphy standing in Joe's doorway talking to someone and laughing. He saw me and his eyes got wide. "Hey, friend, how are you holding up?" He tried to steer me away from Joe's door by my arm, but I wanted that plant. It would die if Joe wasn't here to water it!

I heard Joe's voice. "Who you talkin' to?" He's here!

"Joe?" I pushed past Dunphy and stuck my head in the door. I couldn't believe what I saw.

Joe made eye contact with me and then said, "Aw, Shit," he spun his chair around so I couldn't see his face, but I'd already seen it. He had been severely beaten. One eye was almost swollen shut. There was a long gash across his chin. His lip was still bleeding, as evidenced by the blood on the paper towel in his hand. I think his nose may have been broken.

"Omigod, Joe! What happened?" I automatically rushed to his side and raised my hand to touch his face.

He winced and then caught me by the wrist, stopping my movement toward his injuries. "Cupcake, this isn't makeup. It really hurts." I noticed several things. There were no defensive wounds on his hands. He'd not even defended himself. Also he wasn't wearing his wedding ring. Tears stung my eyes. I don't know if I was mad, or sad, or just worried.

"I'm gonna leave you two alone." Dunphy pulled Joe's door shut and then stood with his back to the small window, blocking anyone who may have tried to get in or see inside.

Joe started, "Sweetheart, when a good cop falls from grace, the other cops don't take it kindly. This was always a part of the plan. I just didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry, okay? I'm fine. It's not the first time I've got the crap kicked out of me. It would be nice if it was the last, but it's doubtful considering I'm such a smart ass." He was trying to smile, but it hurt too much. He noticed me looking at his hands. "Handcuffs. You can't fight back."

"Okay. I'll try not to worry, but oh, your beautiful face." I wanted so much to caress it, but I settled for putting my hands against his chest. I felt something hard and realized he was wearing his wedding ring on a chain around his neck. That was sweet. It reminded me why I loved this man. He was loyal to the end. "Why are you still here? I thought you were leaving early."

Joe let out a disgusted sigh, "Just waiting on my date. Terri had to call and tell Takata we were coming. They said that they just happen to have a job opening in their organization for someone with Terri's unique skill set. Now I'm just waiting for her to get her butt up here and pick me up."

I had a very naughty thought. I said, "Well, we might as well make the most of our little bit of stolen time." I reached for his zipper. I thought he was going to object at first, but I could tell he didn't want to. I gained access to the object of my affection and told him to sit down. In no time, I was on my knees in front of his desk chair. Joe normally would never accept a blow job without the chance to reciprocate, but today, he knew I wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer.

I felt his head fall against the back of his desk chair and his muscles relax when he gave into the feeling. It didn't take long at all for the stress in his body to give way to strong desire. I quicken my pace and in very short order I heard a quiet strangled moan indicating his release. I had just finished tucking everything back into place and he'd gotten all zipped up when I heard the staccato click of spike heels on the tiled hallway floor outside the door. Dunphy stopped Terri at the door.

"Perfect timing!" I said to Joe, with a gleam in my eye. I licked my index finger and drew a stroke above my head in the air. "Score one for Stephanie!" Joe laughed and hugged me to him.

"You are such a dope. I love you." He looked deep into my eyes with his one good one.

"Oh, I have something for you." I pulled the little manilla envelope out of my handbag that held the pictures and my steamy note. "Something to remember me by." I found one tiny spot next to his mouth that looked like it may not hurt if I kissed him and I gave him a little peck.

"Be good, Cupcake. Take care of Muffin and Yourself and Bob and Rex."

He opened the door and Dunphy stepped aside. Terri popped in and said, "Hey, Sexy. It's time to hit the road. Oh, hi Steph. Wow! You are getting bigger every day, aren't you? You know, pink is really not your color. You may need to weed it out of your wardrobe." Terri was wearing a tiny little yellow mini-skirt with a matching jacket. The shirt she wore underneath the jacket left her midsection exposed and her perfect tan and manicure were set off by a diamond ring in her bellybutton.

"Hello Terri. It's too bad your Doctor ran out of Botox before he made it to those wrinkles on your forehead. They look like canyons!"

Joe jumped into the conversation. "Okay, ladies. Let's retract the claws."

He gave me another hug and pressed his forehead to mine. "I'll talk to you as soon as I can. I love you."

Joe turned to Terri and said, "Okay, Miss Thang. It's time for us to put in an appearance downstairs."

There's one thing I'm really conflicted about. I never like Joe to leave, but the view is excellent. I got to watch him swagger down the hall, not caring one bit that he was going with Terri.

Dunphy said, "I'm sorry you had to see your life-sized Ken doll looking more like GI Joe after a bad day in the foxhole."

I realized at that time why I was probably so damn jealous of Gilman when she was with Joe. They looked just like Barbie and Ken together!


	10. Chapter 10

Undercover Chapter 10

I couldn't shake the memory out of my head after seeing Joe's beautiful face all bloody and beaten. He'll be fine, I kept telling myself. He used to get in bar fights all the time. I've actually seen him looking worse, but it had been a really long time ago. I wanted to go home and look at the pictures from our wedding and our honeymoon, just to give myself a better frame of reference and to erase today's sight from my memory.

I stopped to get a Boston crème on my way home. Comfort food is important on days like this. Just as I pulled up in front of our house, I dropped a big glob of crème on my shirt. I sighed and glanced down just long enough to lose track of my driving. I slammed into the back of Joe's truck which was parked in front of our house.

Great. He's not gone an hour and I have wrecked both of our cars. I took inventory and verified that I was fine. I hadn't even hit hard enough to spill my coffee on the console. That didn't stop the accident from making a mess of both of our vehicles. I don't even think insurance will cover it if you hit your own car with your other car. I was so disgusted with myself.

I opened the front door and Bob rushed out to greet me. He snapped the rest of the Boston crème from my hand and then ran to tinkle. He followed me back inside hoping he'd find that I had a bag full of goodies for him, but he was disappointed.

I went upstairs to put on a clean shirt. I was struck by the empty bedroom across from ours. I had a little more than six months to morph into a mother. I don't know how that happens. One day, you are living la vida loca and swinging from the rafters on your honeymoon in Jamaica and the next day, someone is calling you Mommy. I hope I get some maternal instincts in the next few months. My daddy used to say that I didn't have enough sense to come in out of the rain. How could I possibly qualify to be a mother? Why is it you have to take a test to be able to drive a car, but anyone in the world with the right equipment could be a parent? Well, I guess I'll have to leave life's mysteries to ponder another day.

My telephone was ringing. I stepped into the office to pick it up. "Hello?"

It was Mary Lou or Valerie. I could tell because there was the unmistakable screaming of small children in the background. "What the hell is going on over there?" Mary Lou.

"What do you mean?" I just thought I'd play dumb and see what she had to say.

"Lenny just got home and he said that he heard early this morning that Joe had been arrested and then fired from the police force on drug related charges." She answered.

"Sounds right so far." I allowed.

"Then he said that he saw Joe and Terri Gilman leaving the PD holding hands and Joe looked like he'd been beaten to a pulp."

"You're on a roll. Keep going." I said.

"Are you the one who hit him? God, I hope so! I told Lenny it probably wasn't you, because I was pretty sure that your intended target would render him unable to stand upright." Mary Lou said.

"Nope. Not me. I didn't hit him, but you are right. If I had been the one to hit him, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have made it far unless he was crawling to get away from me." Okay, I can sound so tough.

"What the fuck?" She said loudly. "What is going on?"

"I'm not really sure. I haven't talked to him for a while now." I said, back to playing dumb.

"Well, come to dinner at our house. I don't want you to have to be alone." She said.

"Oh, no, I don't think so." I'm sure Mary Lou's kids were probably a reflection of my future life and I really didn't want to see it. "I think I just want to be alone tonight. I'm okay. I promise. I am just tired."

"What are you going to do when Joe comes home? He can't stay gone forever."

Oh, I knew exactly what I was going to do, but that was private. "I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Thanks for the invitation. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

I hung up the phone and started thinking it was odd that my cell phone hadn't been ringing all day from well wishers and those who just wanted to pry into our personal business.

I changed shirts, and went down to look at my phone. It was not in my purse. I'm sure it is in the kitchen on the charger. I found it there. I had missed 17 calls. They were from my Dad, Ranger, Carl Costanza, Mary Lou, Lula, my sister and the local newspaper. They had all left me basically the same message. 'Call me.' I considered it. The only one I would probably call tonight is Ranger. As for the rest of them, with the exception of the newspaper, I'd had some form of contact with them or a close relation of theirs today since the story broke. I believe I will just delete the message from the paper and hope they give up on it.

I dialed Ranger. "Yo." He answered.

"Ranger, this is Stephanie," like he didn't know my voice or have caller ID on his phone.

"I need to meet with you privately." The man did not sound at all happy.

"Um, okay, it's been a pretty hectic day. Can we talk tomorrow? Like maybe at the office?" I still didn't think 'private' was something I wanted to do with Ranger. I had a history of being really, really stupid where he was concerned.

"Tomorrow's fine. The office is not. If you want a public meeting, we can have lunch somewhere." That's fine, I thought.

"Okay, how about the deli on 9th Avenue? Certainly they serve something green and tasteless you can eat." I knew he could hear the smile in my voice and I'm pretty sure I actually heard one on his end as well.

"See you there at 11:45. I have to be at work by 12:30." Ranger was being chatty. "Are you alright? I saw Morelli today. He looked like hell." He sort of chuckled. He would love seeing Morelli all beat up as much as I would love seeing Gilman with a big, ugly zit on the end of her nose.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll see you tomorrow." Okay, now that's the old Ranger. What was wrong last night, I wondered?

I was hungry and made my way toward the refrigerator. I thought I saw movement outside through the kitchen window, but Bob was rushing around my legs playing with a ball, so I decided it was just a reflection.

Nothing in the refrigerator looked appealing. I got some bread and made a peanut butter and olive sandwich. I'd taken one big, gooey bite and the doorbell rang. "Oh, crap. Who could that be?" I looked at Bob like I expected him to answer me. "It's already dark outside and I don't like opening the door when it's dark." I knew I might as well go get it.

"Howdy, friend. Morelli asked me to bring this over to you." It was Dunphy with what I assumed was the Morelli family cradle. It was an old, old, o-l-d, cradle. I looked at it. I'm not even sure it will hold a baby. Muffin might just fall right through the slats.

"Hmmm," I said.

"Yeah. Morelli said it was an ancient family heirloom and that I should just put it in the room in case his mom and Grandma came by to see it. He said to tell you that he doesn't expect you to use it." Dunphy was smiling broadly. He had lines around his eyes and his mouth, making him look a lot older than Joe. I thought they were pretty close to the same age.

"It's the first door on the left upstairs," I said. "You want the chef's special?" I waved my sandwich at him. "Peanut butter and olives – my favorite."

"Uh, I'm pretty sure I'm allergic to olives. How about just peanut butter?" He was blushing. I noticed his right hand was covered in bandages and relatively fresh wounds. He carried the cradle upstairs, losing a couple of pieces along the way. He cursed and made a second trip to pick up all the spare parts that had fallen off of the antique (I use the word loosely).

When he joined me in the kitchen, I handed him his sandwich and put a Corona on the table in front of him. Bob was doing his best 'nice doggie' pose and hoping it would net him a bite of sandwich. "What happened with your cars out front? Looks like someone crashed them together like a couple of croquet balls."

"Yeah, that would be me. I decided not to deal with it until tomorrow." I was thinking. "Dunphy, who beat Joe up?"

"Why do you ask?" He was totally avoiding eye contact.

"Well, because they beat Joe up, Silly. Why won't you tell me? Is it someone I like and you are afraid I won't like them anymore if they beat Joe up?" I was looking hard at his face when I asked this.

He was sort of chewing his lip. "Would it make you feel better if I told you we split a bottle of tequila before I did it and he wasn't really feeling any pain until this morning?"

"Why? Why the hell? Why would you do that?" I was on my feet and ready for a fight myself.

"Stephanie, if you haven't figured this out, your husband is a damn good cop. He knows that details will make or break an assignment like this. There is no way in hell he would have been arrested for drug possession and not have looked like that before getting out of jail. That's just the way it is. If you haven't figured it out, all cops are not the upstanding citizens that Morelli and I are." He had put his hand on my arm and I was sitting down again. "You know, when we were younger, we both participated in our own share of paybacks on our fallen brothers. We learned it wasn't a good practice and stopped doing it a while ago, but I can't say we didn't ever do it." I was still scowling at him.

"Don't be pissed at me. I wouldn't have done it, but we both knew it had to happen. He was a helluva lot better off with me hitting him than he would have been if he had just picked a fight with a guy on the street. Guys on the street don't necessarily stop hitting you just because you look bad enough to convince a gangster that you've been beat up." Dunphy had a hint of a grin, but I could tell he had really hated hitting Joe. They were close. He loved Joe like a brother. He laughed, "Now that I've seen Grandma Bella tonight, I think she'd have kicked his ass a lot worse than I did."

Okay, that got a smile out of me. "You're right. I haven't talked to her today. I guess she's mad at him?"

"Ooh, yeah." He said, in a low voice. "I think you two may need to just consider relocating when all this is over. There is a 'family meeting' going on over there between the brothers and the Grandma and I'm pretty sure if Joe walked in there right now, he wouldn't be walking out alive."

My eyes had to be huge. "Oh, shit. I hadn't thought about them getting that mad at him. Maybe I need to go over there and see if I can settle them down."

"Not a bad idea. The old lady was burning some herbs and chanting something about his dick shriveling up and falling off when I left. Of course, I don't speak Italian very well, so I guess she could have been talking about his hair falling out, but regardless, she's scary." He changed the subject. "You meeting me at the gym tomorrow at 3pm?"

I blew out a breath. "I don't know…" I was trying to come up with a plausible excuse.

"Morelli said you'd try to get out of it, but I'm supposed to tell you that I won't give you any messages he's sending to you through me unless you go at least twice a week." He was smiling. He gave me a little nudge on the arm. "You still owe me one for this week and then you are off the hook until Monday."

I narrowed my eyes. It didn't work on Joe. I hadn't tried it on Dunphy, yet. Apparently, it didn't work on him either. He didn't look intimidated in the least. "Okay. I'll be there."

Bob went out in the front yard with us. Dunphy got in his truck and Bob and I got in Joe's truck. Dunphy turned down a side street to double back and go home. Bob, Muffin and I went over to Mrs. Morelli's house.

I'd never been to the house without Joe and he always just walked in. I stood on the front porch for a long minute debating. 'Do I ring the doorbell or just walk right in?' Joe had stopped ringing the doorbell at my family's house three years ago. I took my chances and went inside. It seemed as though the lynch mob had settled down a bit, but the house smelled like burned garlic or something. Tony, Marc, 'Mom' and Grandma Bella were eating pie in the kitchen when I got there.

When I found them, Tony had his back to me and I was struck again by how much he looked like Joe from the back. I wanted to just say – 'Don't turn around. I want to just hug you from the back, okay?' I had no idea how that would go over so I opted to keep it to myself.

Marc was asserting his dominance as the eldest, I guess and he broke the stony silence first. He stood and walked over to me, put his arm around my shoulders in a brotherly way and said, "Stephanie, I'm so sorry that little S.O.B. did this to you. He's always been a little self-centered bastard, and I'm going to kill him when I can get my hands on him."

I was taken aback that the guys on the police force had so much more regard for Joe than his own brother. I wanted to scratch his eyes out. This brazen two-timing jerk was calling Joe self-centered? Mrs. Morelli, Mom, looked absolutely exhausted. This had to be really hard on her, seeing the others in the family bash Joe when she knew he was just trying to do the right thing. I guess she saw the anger rising inside me and figured she needed to intervene. "Marcus Gianni Morelli, you shut your mouth. This is Joe's wife. She's had a hard day and she'll have a few more of them before this is all resolved. You leave her alone." Marc, being no one to argue with his mother, sat back down at his pie. 'Mom' went to get a piece of pie for me, too.

Grandma Bella proclaimed, "I had a vision today. I saw Joseph getting on an airplane with that Grizolli girl. They were running away together. He wasn't wearing his wedding ring." Grandma's visions often come right after telephone calls from friends who report the latest dirt and the stories have remarkable similarities.

I wanted to know how far this vision was going. "What was Terri wearing?"

"A yellow slut skirt and high heels." She declared.

"Really. Where were they going?" I shouldn't have, but I couldn't help it.

"Italy." They both speak Italian. That makes sense. "The Amalfi Coast. Very Romantic."

Tony, assuming the role of peacemaker of the gang, I assumed, took me by the arm and led me into the living room where we could talk privately. "Really, Honey, how are you? I know this has to be hard on you, given your condition, and all." He had his hands on my arms and was stroking them up and down my arms. "I can help you if you need getting squared away financially and things. I know a lot about Joey's financial situation. I helped him set most of his accounts up to begin with."

Tony was standing uncomfortably close to me. He put his hand on my belly sort of low, like I'd heard people would do after I started showing. I was suddenly wary. The hair on my neck was standing up. Was Joe's brother making a pass at me? Shit. I practically ran out of there and back into the kitchen. I grabbed a chair and sat across the table as far as I could get from Tony even though my pie was sitting right next to him. I was trying to get ahold of myself I had a long day, I was tired, and I missed Joe. Tony had the same chocolate bedroom eyes. I just read something into it that wasn't there. That's all. Surely that's all. I suddenly felt like I needed a shower and I needed to talk to Joe! I thought Tony was a good guy. I still wanted to think that. I'm just going to ignore him and hope he doesn't confirm my worst suspicions in the future.

Before I left 'Mom' gave me a hug and a kiss and told me that I would be expected to attend family get-togethers just like I would if Joe were here. That meant that every Sunday evening, I was expected to come. Usually everyone came early and helped prepare the meal and if I wanted, she'd teach me how to make 'Joey's' favorite manicotti and I could surprise him after he got home. She said in low tones, "I heard from the same source that provided Bella's 'vision' that Joseph had been badly beaten. Is that true?"

"Um, I don't know. I didn't see him. Dunphy said he looked fine." She didn't need to know that. As bad as I felt about it, she would feel worse. She was his mommy. I think I'd kill anyone who ever hurts Muffin. I don't care if he is 6 foot tall and thinks he's bulletproof. He will still be my baby. I realized that maybe those motherly instincts were gaining on me afterall. I guess I thought they would all be soft and fluffy. I never realized they were fierce and protective, too.

"Where's Bob?" I asked her, looking around.

"I don't think you brought him. I didn't see him in the house." She went back inside and called for him while I looked outside.

The realization came over me slowly. I had stood on the porch waiting to decide whether to go inside or ring the bell and he'd been with me. I must have gone inside and left him out here alone. I'd lost Bob again! He wasn't used to this neighborhood. He'd never find his way home. I was panicking.

I called Dunphy, my dad, Eddie Gazzara, Carl Costanza, MaryLou and Valerie. Mrs. Morelli had Marc and Tony go look for him, too. All of us roamed the streets for what seemed like hours. There was no luck finding Bob. In one day, I had lost my husband, our dog and wrecked both of our cars.

I went home reluctantly with promises from everyone that they would resume looking tomorrow. The house was lonely and dark. It was just Rex, me and Muffin. Unfortunately, Rex and Muffin were not much in the companionship department. I went to bed, clutched my surrogate Joe pillow to my chest and cried myself to sleep.

Again, tears being the cleansing agent that they are, I woke up hopeful and happy the next morning. I knew Joe loved me and if he was here, he would have probably laughed about what I did to the cars, after issuing a few wisely chosen curse words. I missed Bob, but I'd do what Joe had done the last time he was lost, and he would be home soon. Surely animal control picked him up last night. I crawled out of bed and stepped into the shower. I did my hair and makeup. Feeling optimistic, I thought I would like to look really cute today, so I spent a little extra time getting ready. I had a new little top and some Capri pants that I hadn't worn yet, so I cut the tags off and pulled them on. The waist seemed a tiny bit tighter than when I'd bought them a couple of months ago. I thought I'd take them to Jamaica, but then forgot all about them when it was time to pack.

I guess this was going to happen a lot in the next few weeks and months. All my clothes were going to become my enemies. I guess it will be a good excuse to go shopping in a couple of months.

I went down to find some breakfast. I started the coffee and called the animal shelter. There had been no sign of Bob. I had asked Dunphy not to tell Joe that he was missing because I didn't want him to worry.

I saw the answering machine on the counter flashing like crazy and realized I'd never checked the messages at home. I had just checked those on my cell phone. Most of them were duplicates. Ranger, Lula, my mother, Joe's mother, the newspaper, and Joe. JOE! He'd left it right before they boarded the airplane. "Hi, Cupcake. I miss you. I forgot to ask you to change the outgoing message on the answering machine. Right now, it's my voice. I want to be able to hear your voice if I get a chance to call the house even if you aren't there. Don't forget your pre-natal vitamins. I love you." I saved the message. All the important phrases were there. He called me Cupcake, he said he missed me, he said he wanted to hear my voice and he said he loved me. Now I could hear it anytime I wanted to. Lucky me! I crossed one day off of the calendar. One down, 62 to go.

I went by the office to see if there were any new skips for me. I still had the ones from yesterday, too. If I could track them all down by the end of next week, I would be able to make a good dent in my debt. I was planning to try to bring in at least one a day. Today's candidate was named Michelle Harris. She lived one street over from my parents in the Burg. I didn't recognize her. She must be new in town. I called my Mother and she didn't think she knew her either. Michelle had been picked up for aggravated assault following her fiancée's bachelor party. Apparently Michelle didn't take kindly to hearing that a girl was due to jump out of a cake wearing pasties and a thong with nothing else. She went over there to stop it from happening. However, it seems that Michelle felt she could make a better impression by jumping from the cake herself. She locked the stripper in a closet, donned the pasties, using frosting to hold them in place, and then got in place. At the appropriate time, she jumped from the cake, surprising all involved.

This is where the story gets a bit fuzzy. It seems that Michelle took the opportunity to smash several of the reveler's faces into her ample bosom, while shimmying vigorously. Four men reported neck and back injuries.

Michelle swore she didn't remember doing this, but there was video. Oh, yeah. Video is hard to refute. I found her working in her family's meat market on the outskirts of the Burg. When I got my first good glimpse of her, I was aghast. I am a respectable 34B. I'm hoping for great things to come about as a result of my pregnancy. However, this woman was HUGE. Not everywhere, just her breasts. I could hear the comments Joe would make under his breath if he saw this woman. I'll bet she's like a 34QQQ. She was a freak of nature. I could certainly understand how she could cause some bodily injury with those as weapons.

"Michelle Harris?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said, snapping her gum in my general direction. "What's it to ya, Honey?"

"I'm Stephanie Morelli. I work for the Vincent Plum Bail Bond agency. You missed your court date last week and I need to take you back in for rescheduling."

She came rushing over to me. "SHHHH! Crap! I don't want my family to know about this! Jeez! Let's go outside."

"Okay!" I shouted. She was dragging me toward the back door by my forearm.

"You are going to get me in so much trouble!" She hissed. "Damn, what if my husband heard you?"

"Excuse me? Your husband? Oh, yeah. He would have been your fiancée when this file was written. I've only been married a couple of months myself." I was smiling and trying to appeal to her sense of what we had in common. Just two newlyweds trying to make a living.

"No, you moron. I've been married to Benny for 10 years. Jed was just a fling that got out of hand. Tell you what; I'll go into court tomorrow. Will that make you happy and get you off my back?" I must admit, I was thinking this lady must spend a lot of time on her back. I'm not sure I could even lift those things.

"Well, actually, I think we should just do this today, okay?" I didn't think for a minute that she would go in tomorrow, and besides, I needed to take her in myself if I wanted to get any money out of it.

"Hell, I don't know. What excuse could I use to leave in the middle of the day without Benny knowing something was up?" A reasonable question, I suppose.

"Can't you just tell him you don't feel good? Like you have PMS or something? PMS always works for me." My biggest problem right now is that I'm pregnant and I won't be able to use that particular excuse for a while.

"Hey, you are good at this!" Told you. I'm a great liar.

"Give me 5 minutes. I'll meet you outside. Hey we are having a great special on pork roasts if you need anything." Excellent. My mother was always looking for a deal. I followed Michelle in and picked out 3 pork roasts and 2 beef rump roasts.

"What kind of meat do you use in manicotti?" I asked.

"Everyone has their own concoction. It depends on your recipe. I don't make it myself. It is too damn complicated." I watched her follow Benny to the back. He was a nice looking guy. Wonder what Jed had that Benny didn't. I probably shouldn't ask.

"Okay, he bought it. I told him you were a friend of mine from Community College and you were going to give me a ride home.

"Great. Let's go. My mother just lives a couple blocks over. I need to drop this meat off at her house." We were just old chums, heading to the police station.

Following that episode, I had just enough time to make it to the 9th Avenue Deli to meet with Ranger.

He was sitting in a corner booth, back to the wall, as always. "Hi," I chirped as I slid into the seat.

"I ordered you a cheeseburger, milkshake and fries. If you are going healthy now, since you are eating for two, we can change the order." He didn't wait for a response. "Do we need to wait for your bodyguard or can we talk now?" He was pissy again. Talk about PMS. What's his deal?

"Huh?" I quizzed him, "what are you talking about?"

"Your father. You did ask him to come over to your place to be your bodyguard the other night didn't you?" Ranger was leaning across the table at me. "I can't believe you did that to me. I thought we were friends. You made me feel like a criminal or something. You've never needed anyone else to protect you from me before. Why now? Did you think I was going to take advantage of you, or what?" He was really hurt. I could see it in his eyes. I had hurt his feelings when I asked my daddy to come over the other night. The food came and we started to eat.

"Ranger, I wasn't protecting myself from you. Really. I just thought that, under the circumstances, due to the fact that I do not have a good track record with you, I just needed someone to fortify me. Maybe I was protecting you from me." Okay, I was smiling and I know this sounded flirty. That's just how Ranger and I communicate the best. I'd kill Joe if he did this with Terri. In reality, I know he does. I just don't want to see it.

"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Honest."

He smiled. "Don't do it again. I forgive you, Babe. Maybe I should say 'Babe with Babe'. When are you due?"

"February," I was happy to be on better ground with Ranger again.

"Are you doing okay since Morelli is gone?" He was worried. I could tell.

"Yeah. It's lonely, and I lost Bob." My lower lip was quivering. This was not a good time to be a hormonal pregnant woman, but I was. "I lost Bob, Ranger. I've called the Animal Shelter every few hours but he isn't there. I don't know what I'm going to do without him and Morelli." Ranger was sort of looking around, like he wished he could hand me off to someone. I knew he hated it when I cried almost as much as Joe did.

"Um, I'll look for him, okay? Did you lose him at your house, Morelli's house I mean?" He was forking salad in with a vengeance. "I'll find him. It will be okay."

After a minute or two of silence, I'd gotten control of myself. "Since we are on better ground now, I need to ask you a favor."

He assessed me with his eyes. "What do you need me to do?"

I smiled. "Well, Morelli's going to go FTA in October and I'm going to go apprehend him so that we can have a few days together. Then he'll go back to work on his case. Sixty days after that, I think it will be December 18, he'll be FTA again. By then, I'll be almost 7 months along. We didn't think it would look very credible for me to waddle up, playing the broken hearted wife, and for him to just go with me willingly. I need someone to apprehend him for me."

Ranger was smiling big. "Shit. You are telling me I get to apprehend Morelli? That is the best Christmas gift ever. Aw, that's hilarious. I love it. Do we have to wait until December? I'd like to do it tomorrow." He was laughing. Really laughing.

I know it is sick, but I love this sort of weird jealousy thing that they have going on even since we got married. It's not like it's even sexual with Ranger anymore. I mean we flirt but we both know there is absolutely zero chance that anything will ever happen between us again. It just sort of makes me feel like such a prize. I'm sure this is how Joe feels when Terri and I spar over him. Joe has no idea how many people women lust after him. Our wedding day was declared an official day of mourning in the Burg.


	11. Chapter 11

Undercover Chapter 11

I was disappointed that Bob failed to surface. I was more than disappointed, I was heartbroken. He's been gone for 10 days. I've been trying to keep up with all the new demands on my time, like eating healthy. It takes a lot of time and energy to eat healthy. You buy a head of lettuce and if you don't eat it in like 20 minutes, it gets all yucky. In reality, I guess it was more like a week but come on. Tastykakes keep forever, I think, I've never had a problem getting them eaten before they expire.

I had been to the gym several times since Morelli left. Dunphy had been a good workout buddy. He gave me his iPod to listen to the first time we went and said that if I just kept my mind on the music, I wouldn't think so much about the exercise. He also threw a towel across the little monitor at the front of the treadmill and told me not to peek at how long I'd been walking. It would be over before I knew it. He was right on both counts.

I listened to Dunphy's music the first time I went. I was afraid that he was into classic rock like Joe. I didn't know how long I could do it, but surprisingly, Dunphy had a little of everything on there. I didn't know how to skip songs or anything and I was scared to press any buttons so I just let it play. It wound from Country, to R&B, to hard rock, to Disco. At one point, even a song by NSync came on. What the heck is that doing on here? Dunphy was a 37 year old police officer, not a 14 year old girl. I can't see Dunphy getting into that stuff. However, it was the song where they are talking about getting freaky deaky and into cybersex. I could use a little freaky deaky in my life right now, so I sort of got into it with the complete hope that no one else knew what I was hearing. I went and bought my own iPod after that day so I wouldn't have to listen to anyone else's taste in music.

Every time I finished my workout I was rewarded with little notes from Joe. Sometimes I got one, sometimes more, but always something. They never said much, just things like 'All settled in here', 'Good break on the case today', 'Mom's birthday is next Thursday. She likes anything that smells like lilacs', and 'I miss you'. They were always signed, 'I love you, Joe'. Those slips of paper meant a lot to me and if a little sweat was the price, I'd gladly pay it. It was nice to think that Joe knew me well enough to know that I wouldn't take care of myself unless I had an incentive.

By the time there were 25 little red X's on my calendar, it was time to see the doctor again. He said that everything was looking great. I'd gained 2 pounds and that was fine. He would do a sonogram next month. I talked him into seeing me early so I would have sonogram pictures by October 14.

I still hadn't told Mor…um, Joe about Bob. I had hopes that I would come home one day and he'd be there waiting for me. Animal control had told me several times that they didn't have Bob but they had other nice doggies I could adopt. I didn't want another dog. I wanted Bob. I was still running ads in the newspaper and had gotten a couple of calls, but when I got over to look at the dogs, it wasn't Bob. I always dissolved into a heap of hormones and tears, but I held out faith that our doofy dog was just lost and he'd eventually end up back at home.

I had developed a little list of questions for Joe. Most of them could wait until I saw him, like what body shop he thought I should use to get our cars fixed. I normally didn't have to get cars fixed. I normally had to have them removed from a crime scene.

Another question I had was about a bill Joe got in the mail. It wasn't really a bill, but a notice of a draft. It was from a storage unit rental place. What the heck would Joe have in storage? There was plenty of room in the house for any furniture that he may have and he has always seemed to travel light, so I couldn't fathom what that was all about. It was just $40 a month, but it really had my curiosity up. It wasn't here in Trenton or I'd just drive over there and see. It's in Baltimore, Maryland, for goodness sake. The bill showed the last time Joe had accessed the unit was 2001. Obviously it wasn't something he needed to get to very often.

Also, the pharmacy called and left an automated message on our home answering machine that they had Joe's blood pressure medicine ready to be picked up. I didn't even know Joe took blood pressure medicine. I knew he drank a lot of Maalox. I wonder if I am the cause of his needing blood pressure medicine….I knew I was the cause of the Maalox addiction. I thought this was a question that merited my having Dunphy ask Joe about it. If he needed his medication, I needed to get it to him.

Old habits are hard to break. I had called Joe 'Morelli' for so many years, but several of my friends and family members who didn't know about his undercover operation have mentioned that maybe I am saying 'Morelli' to create distance between us since he ran away with Gilman and all. Therefore, I am trying really, really hard to call him Joe.

Albert and Valerie are starting to pressure me to file for divorce. Albert is an attorney, after all, and says he can handle it for me as painlessly as possible. There is no chance in the world I will do that just to cover up the operation. Even I have my limits. I can't get a divorce while I'm pregnant anyway, so I told them to talk to me about it afterwards. Albert says that if I file now, the divorce can be final the day after the baby is born, but if I wait, I'll have to follow the 90 day waiting period. I finally told him to butt out. It made Valerie mad, but you know I would like to have a little more support from my family.

I think Mary Lou finally figured it out. She was really clingy and careful at first, but when she realized that I wasn't mad at Joe, she said, "Okay, there's more here than meets the eye. You know I love you. I'll be here to support you and I expect you to call me if you need me." We've gone looking at maternity clothes but I haven't had to buy anything yet. I probably will buy a couple of little outfits before I go see Joe next month.

I'm surprised that no one has put the Detroit connection together yet. I haven't heard anyone say a word about it. I learned that the business Joe had been looking for – the one that previously occupied the current Duncan Donuts location, had been the Genieve Used Car Dealership. They had specialized in European vehicles. I knew immediately that I'd heard that name before. Joe had said that Tommy Takata's common law wife's name was named Genieve. I'm sure Joe had this info as well, but it certainly peaked my interest. I wondered what this had to do with Jeri Stephenson's murder.

My Mom and Dad have started buying little things for their newest grandchild. They already have 3 from Valerie, but they are making sure that I know they are very excited about Muffin. As happy as I am, I can't imagine how great my life would be right now if Joe was here, too. Mary Lou (since she knows something but she doesn't know what she knows) has started helping me remember things that I love about him. When we were shopping, she said, "What do you miss the most about Joe?"

I responded quickly, "His smell in the morning."

"Eew. Lenny smells gross in the morning. I don't know anyone who smells particularly good in the morning." She laughed.

"Joe does. He smells like love and really excellent sex in the morning." I sighed. She sighed, too.

The next time she asked, "If you could have had Joe here with you for one thing that happened this week, what would it have been?" I wanted to say 'the all night sex fest we'd be having tonight' but MaryLou would have choked.

"The doctor. He was so happy to be there last month. He's going to be a great

Daddy." If she didn't know something was up beforehand, she would have after I'd said that.

As for Joe's family, we're doing the Sunday dinner thing. There have been no more advances from Tony so I really think I was just tired and reading way too much into it that evening. Of course, I'm still not giving him any chances. I've started sticking to his wife like glue as soon as they come in. I haven't asked her to go to the bathroom with me yet, but I've thought about it.

Marc is still furious and he fumes and editorializes about what a jerk Joe is every time I see him. He is going to get a piece of my mind by the time this is over. I guarantee it. Mary and Kathy are just ignoring the situation. They just act like Joe's in the other room. That tells me that they know that something's up as well. Mike and Stewart, their husbands, are still just as scared of Mrs. Morelli as I am and they just sort of keep their mouths shut most of the time. They told me that they can't call her 'Mom' either. I think they just don't call her anything.

Mrs. Morelli is trying to be supportive, and she is, indeed, driving me crazy. She really wants to teach me to make manicotti. Now that sights and smells aren't bothering me so much, I need to take her up on her offer. Joe would love for me to be able to make his mom's manicotti.

When I met Dunphy at the gym after the Doctor appointment, I said, "I have two things for Morelli. First, tell him that the Doctor says Muffin is fine." This news got a big smile out of Dunphy. "Secondly, ask him if he needs his blood pressure medicine. I didn't even know he took blood pressure medicine, did you?"

"Yeah. I have to take cholesterol medicine and Joe takes blood pressure meds. We went on them about the same time. So, he started taking it, oh, a couple of years ago maybe."

I replied, "So, do you think I'm the reason he has to take it?" I was sort of embarrassed to ask.

He changed the subject, "Are those new shoes?" He laughed, too. I think I got my answer.

After I worked out today, I said, "Hey, Dunphy, how does Joe get these notes to you? I thought he couldn't have contact with anyone."

He chuckled. "That's a trade secret, friend. I'll let Morelli tell you how it works when you see him."

I saw Dunphy's eyes lock onto a target over my shoulder. I turned to see what was up. It was Connie Risolli. "Hi, Connie. How are you? I didn't know you came to this gym," I said.

Connie swallowed, looked away from Dunphy for the first time and said, "I didn't think you went to any gym."

I introduced my two friends to each other. There were instant pheromones penetrating the air and I was starting to feel like a third wheel, so I asked for my payoff from Dunphy and was ready to leave. He said he had to go to the locker room to get the note and he'd be right back. Connie immediately pounced, "Omigod. Who is that? He's amazing. I hope he's not too smart, I like them big, sweaty and dumb."

"Well, I think he's probably sort of smart, but he is definitely big and sweaty. Maybe he can 'dumb down' for you. His name is Dunphy and he's Morelli's best friend. He's a cop," I knew that probably disqualified him in Connie's mind. Her family frequents the wrong side of the law.

"That's too bad. Of course, I'm not really looking to marry the guy. I just want some sweaty sex. It's been toooo long." She offered, giving him a slow look up and down and licking her lips.

"I'm pretty sure he would be game for that, too." I said. What single guy isn't?

Dunphy reached my side and handed me my note, never breaking his open mouthed stare at Connie's chest. I made myself scarce. The last time I saw them, Connie was feigning stupidity on how to start the treadmill. It's not like there isn't a huge green button that says, "Start" or anything. Oh, well, no one said that pickups have to be done intelligently. The first time I was with Joe he just bought a cannoli from me and look where we are all these years later.

I waited until I got to the car before opening my note. It said, "If it makes you feel any better, Terri is acting like a total bitch." The note was all scrunched up like they had fought over it or something. I was really hoping it wasn't foreplay of some kind. Joe gets turned on by the strangest things. Of course, if she was like a sister to him, maybe they were having a sibling spat. He'd still signed it, 'I love you, Joe.' Surprisingly, it did make me feel better.

The newspaper had finally given up on me. I guess by now it was old news. I was still seeing people in the grocery store that would avert their eyes because they felt so bad that Morelli had abandoned that poor stupid little wife of his in her time of need. It was pissing me off.

However, my skips were being very cooperative and I hadn't been in any dangerous situations lately. Maybe I should have gotten pregnant and abandoned years ago. Other than missing Joe and Bob, my life was pretty excellent. Rex, Muffin and I were doing fine. I had made a substantial dent in paying down my debts this month. If I kept it up for just another couple of months, I would owe less than $5000. That's better than my debt load had been when I got out of college. Yea for me!

Dunphy called me and told me that Joe said he had plenty of blood pressure pills and that I should pick up the prescription and bring it next month when I saw him. I wanted to ask him about Connie, but I thought I'd ask her next time I went into the office instead. He looked awfully happy, so I had a good idea that they'd hit it off. Or maybe they'd gotten off, or something.

For whatever reason, I had run into a number of pregnant woman with military husbands lately. They were in the same place I was. They each loved a man with a dangerous job who couldn't be here with them. I was lucky enough to know that Joe would move heaven and earth to be here for the baby's birth and I had confidence he would. Several of them indicated that they really didn't know how old their children would be before their daddy got to meet them. It made me so sad for them. I realized that this had been going on as long as the world existed. As long as there were bad guys, the good guys would need to leave their wives and families to protect them.

Today's my 34th birthday. I read an article that said that women giving birth after age 35 are considered advanced age birth mothers. That seems silly. I'm still not ready for it. How could 35 be advanced age? I went to the gym early today hoping that there would be a special note from Joe since it was my birthday. Unfortunately, Dunphy hadn't received a note for me today.

I spent the majority of the day feeling sorry for myself. My mother wanted me to come to dinner. I refused. I wanted it to just be me, Rex and Muffin. I sat and watched a game on TV with both hands on my tummy – on Muffin. I explained the rules of the game to him. He was going to come out of the womb an athlete just like Joe, even if he's a girl. My friend Eddie and my cousin Shirley dropped by to say 'hi' and see if I was doing okay. They brought me birthday cake. We visited for a while and had cake. It was nice to see them. Shirley said that if I needed a birthing coach, I should call Eddie because they had 4 children and he was such a good guy. It was nice to see them in love and still flirting after all those years. Eddie could be a real guy sometimes but I think he's pretty crazy about Shirley, even if she's a whiner.

At 9:20, my telephone rang. The number was listed as 'unknown' and I hardly ever answered those. However, I just knew I should get this one. "Happy Birthday, Cupcake!" It was the first time I'd heard Joe's voice in person in over 5 weeks.

"Joe! Hi! Thank you for calling me! I miss you so much!" Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry.

"Oh, Honey, I miss you, too. Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm great." This was the truth. "Did you hear about the Doctor's appointment? Everything is perfect."

"I heard. Baby, I can't talk long. I just wanted to hear your voice and make sure you know that it's killing me to miss your birthday. I promise I'll make it up to you." God, his voice is sexy. I wanted to crawl through the telephone and take advantage of him. "I adore you." He said. "Do you need anything at all? Is everything okay?"

"I just need you, Joe. Everything is okay."

"I love you so much, Stephanie."

"I love you, Joe."

I grinned like a stupid idiot the rest of the night.

Before bed, I thought I saw movement outside the same kitchen window that I had a few weeks earlier. Bob's not here to blame it on tonight. I didn't sleep all that great that night.


	12. Chapter 12

Undercover 12

"Omigod, I am positive I felt the baby move." I don't know why I was talking aloud. There was noone in the shower but me….and Muffin, who, after all, is 'the baby' in question. I jumped out of the shower and ran, dripping wet to the telephone. "Mary Lou? I think I felt the baby move."

"Wonderful. Is that all you need? I'm sorta busy." Oh, God. They're having sex. She is never chatty when they are having sex. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"It's Tuesday night. 9:45. You can set your watch by it. Talk to you tomorrow." She sang.

Okay. Well. Hmmm. I go see Morelli in a week in Detroit. He'll be more interested in this news. In the meantime, I'll call my mother. "Mom? Guess what? I'm positive I felt the baby move."

"Wonderful. Is that all you need? I'm a little busy." Oh…my…God. This is my mother…she's almost certainly with my father. They should not be having sex. Euwww. I hung up before even saying goodbye.

"Lula? Guess what? I think I felt the baby move." I had to tell somebody or I was going to die.

"That's nice. I'll see you tomorrow." She hung up. I was positive Tank was there, probably with his head between her thighs. I am SO LONELY! I am the only person on the face of the earth not having sex right at this moment. I NEED JOE! Crap. I know, Joe's mother – she's not married, I've never seen her date, maybe I'll call over there…..no answer. She's probably in bed early…all alone. I sighed heavily.

I went downstairs. For the first time tonight I realized the light on the answering machine was blinking. I checked the messages, "Hello? Uh, my name is Jake Murphy. I live in Yuma, Arizona. I think I may have your dog. This telephone number was on his collar. He is starving. I've never seen a dog eat so much. This dog looks sort of like a golden retriever or maybe an Irish setter, if you stretch it a little. Give me a call." He had left his number.

"How could Bob be in Yuma, Arizona?" I asked Rex. He didn't look convinced. I checked the time. It is 10 pm here, but only 8 in Arizona. Okay, nothing ventured, nothing gained. "Mr. Murphy? This is Stephanie Morelli in New Jersey. You left a message about a dog?"

"Damndest thing I ever saw." He said. This dog will eat anything. We own a restaurant. He's a damn good garbage disposal. Did you say 'New Jersey'? How the hell do you think he got here?"

Unconvinced, "I need to make sure it is Bob. Try feeding him a carrot."

"Oh, Okay. I haven't found anything this bad boy won't eat, so I figure he'll be happy to have a carrot. If I give them to him, I won't have to eat the damn things, so here goes……shit, he turned his damn nose up. He won't eat them."

I instantly cried, "BOB! IT'S BOB!"

"How do you think he got here?" My Murphy asked.

"I don't know and I don't care. I need Bob home with me. How can we get him here?" I didn't care what it cost, it was obviously Bob and I needed him home.

"Well, I reckon I can ship him, maybe. I'll need to buy one of those big dog crates. I'll call you tomorrow and let you know what it will run you. Do you have an email address? I can send you a picture so you can be sure this is really your dog?" I gave him the address, although I knew it was Bob.

"Thank goodness you found him. Thank you so much for calling!" I'd completely dissolved in tears by this point and was thrilled Bob was coming home.

Again, I must say, my life is wonderful! I have a husband who adores me – he said so himself. I am having a really nice baby that I think I really like – we seem companionable to this point. He doesn't mind my issues. I don't mind his….I think he's moving again. Either that or I have gas.

One more try…"Dunphy, Guess what? I have the best news for you! I am certain I felt the baby move and I think Bob's coming home from Arizona!" I was so excited I had to tell someone.

"Wonderful. Is that all you need? I'm sorta busy." Shit. I just hung up. It's not my night. Seems to be everyone else in the world's damn night.

"Okay, Mary Lou, It's official. None of my clothes fit me. I've only gained 8 pounds, but I can't get into anything. I guess I've been wearing my clothes tight – seems like it should take more than 8 pounds to keep you out of your clothes. I need everything. Lingeree especially." She was looking at me very speculatively. In way of explanation, I said, "I may have a trip coming up soon that is important to me." I responded, with my eyebrows knitted together.

"Okay, so let's say that Officer Hottie was there to meet your airplane," I told you she knew. "What would you want him to see? To focus on?"

"Well, I'm sure he won't be there to meet me at the airplane. I'm sure I will need to go apprehend him at his new place…. You know? I mean I haven't seen him in a couple of months, and the landscape has changed a bit….How do I accentuate the good part?" I was trying to be vague and still understand how to get Morelli's motor started.

"Okay, you need to understand, Joe will be damned pleased with any changes in your body that he can attribute to his own dick. Guys are pretty damned proud of what they can do to us. I don't care if you have gained 100 pounds and it is all in your ass. He is going to see it and go, 'Damn, she loves me.' That's just the way it is. However, it only works when you are pregnant or when you are wearing 4 inch Fuck-Me Pumps."

Mary Lou has three kids and had told me they were striving for 4. "I need you to answer some questions for me before we can outfit you appropriately. How long will you have together? Does he like lingerie? Do you need an outfit to go out with him or will this strictly be an intimate affair?"

"Um, maybe 3 days, Yeah, but more on the floor than on me, and maybe – can't hurt to be ready for the unexpected." I replied.

"Okay, I know just the place." She took me to a sort of a crummy little strip mall which had as the anchor store a place called, appropriately, "Bun in the Oven." She seemed pleased with herself.

We went inside. "Omigod. I had no idea." This was a smut shop for pregnant women. Well, not everything, I mean, they had nice clothes, too, but it was predominantly lingerie and really 'exciting' fashions to celebrate the 'special' time in a woman's life.

"I'm telling you, he will LOVE it." She smiled knowingly and winked at me.

Most of the things here accentuated the bust, and allowed filmy, sexy, fabric to drape over my protruding tummy. I found about 45 outfits I thought Joe would like immediately. I picked out about 10, along with two week's worth of smutty undergarments and sleepwear. I was still hoping to have him home for at least part of this interesting time in our lives. If not, I would be able to share it with him next time around. I still believed with all my heart that we'd have more than one child. I had been so happy despite the miserable circumstances; I couldn't imagine not wanting to do it again when he was with me.

I left the shop with slacks, skirts, tops, jeans, t-shirts, maternity gowns, nursing bras, sexy little nighties and peek a boo panties. I was ready to see my husband. NOW. I didn't know if I could wait for a week.

Thanks to the twice weekly workouts, I had a butt you could bounce a quarter off of and a handful of notes from the man who had declared his love to me. The more recent ones were urgent and insistent, mentioning the unmentionable. Not exactly baby book material. He was almost as ready to see me as I was to see him.

The next thing I knew, I had 61 red X's on my calendar and knew I would see Joe in less than two days. Bob had arrived at the Trenton airport last night, happy and hungry. I was so glad he was home. I'd practically rubbed the fur off of him in the last 14 hours and was taking today off to spend with the sweet little furry guy. Rex was thrilled Bob was home. I could tell. Muffin was being very acrobatic and I knew he was happy, too. It was a great day.

Bob slept with his head on my lap and when Muffin kicked him in the face, Bob just licked my face. I took this as a sign that all was going to work out. I was unbelievably happy.

However, I was due to see the Doctor again in the morning for a sonogram and I was a little nervous. I don't really know why. I felt great. I guess I was still nervous about how Joe would feel about my budding body even though Mary Lou had reassured me that he would love it.

When I went to see Doctor Hands, he said I'd gained another 5 pounds and was, again, doing fine. Muffin was getting bigger. The sonogram was amazing. I could see Muffin's head, legs, arms, face and feet. You could even see him sucking his thumb. Of course, the 'him' part was still totally speculative considering that 'he' wouldn't move his legs for us to see if there was anything between them or not. Dr. Hands handed me a video and a few still picture from the sonogram to share with Joe. I absolutely knew Joe would be thrilled.

Dunphy drove me to the airport that morning. He reminded me that Joe and Terri's place had been bugged and that Takata and his goons could hear anything we said but they couldn't see anything as they had installed no video surveillance. I was happy about that. Crap. What would have happened to the separate but equal porn idea if they had installed video surveillance? I didn't want to know.

I rented a car and followed the directions I had printed from the internet yesterday. I arrived at Joe's slummy apartment just on schedule. It was October now, so it was a bit chilly outside. I was wearing a long sleeved black peasant blouse that was tightly gathered around my ample bosom and draped attractively over my tiny little baby bump. My jeans I was wearing were slim fit to the knees with a bit of a flare. I also had sexy high heeled black boots on. I didn't care if I had to apprehend Joe. I was going to look good doing it. I had a little black swing coat that bit me just below the butt, but I didn't think I needed it. It wasn't that cool outside. My hair was perfect, falling in ringlets around my face, just like Joe liked.

I parked at the curb and marched myself to the door where I lifted my hand to knock. Suddenly a grimy looking hand appeared from the inside of the apartment and dragged me through the doorway. I was startled when a long haired, dirty looking, bearded man confronted me inside the apartment. I let out a little shriek.

This guy was…Morelli. I realized it almost too late. He put an arm up to keep me from hitting him in the face with my purse. I hadn't seen him in 63 days. He said that he would look the part of a drug addict. He was right. He looked like he hadn't bathed in that amount of time. He looked like he would smell bad, but he smelled like Joe.

He was smiling at me, and had his index finger to his mouth reminding me that our every sound was being monitored. Terri was lounging on the sofa in the little living room in a little navy blue halter top and a pair of short shorts, accentuated by her own slut shoes. She was also holding an impressive looking gun. She didn't look nearly as happy to see me as he did.

He pulled me into his chest, and said, "Hey, what are you doing here?"

He simultaneously pulled a neatly printed index card out of his pocket that said, "I am so happy to see you." He was grinning at me. Even under all that hair, I could tell he was gorgeous and the beating a couple of months ago hadn't hurt him a bit.

I responded weakly, "You missed your court date. I need to take you back to Trenton so you can be rebonded."

"No way! I'm not going anywhere with you, you stupid bitch." He said. The card in his hand said, "You are more beautiful than ever. I love you."

I guess I'm more verbal than visual and I responded to the tone of his voice. "Listen, you dumb fuck. You knocked me up and then left. The least you can do is come with me peacefully."

I was looking around this dismal space Joe and Terri had been sharing. It was a very small living area that boasted a sofa, currently occupied by Terri, an elliptical machine just like I'd seen at the gym, a Bowflex, and a huge dry – erase board that they had been writing notes to each other on. I could see a kitchen in the back of the space that was small and clean. There was one door to the left and I assumed it led to the bedroom and bathroom.

"I'm not going," Joe said, waggling his eyebrows at me, and holding up a card that said, "Let's get out of here, Beautiful."

"Oh, yeah?" How original, I thought. What the hell? He should have given me a script of something?

He strode in long steps to the white board and wrote the word "handcuffs."

I did a palms up gesture…. I didn't bring any handcuffs! Stupid! Shit! Terri was laughing, stupid girl.

Morelli put his hands to his forehead. "How do you think you are going to take me in?"

He took off toward the bedroom. I followed him. He was digging around in what appeared to be Terri's underwear drawer due to the fact that each piece of fabric he was flinging through the air was about two square inches in totality. Much to my chagrin, he pulled out a pair of handcuffs and handed them to me. I didn't want to know why they were there, why he knew they were there, or why I felt so relieved they were there.

"I'm going to handcuff you?" I said, more as a question than as a statement or declaration.

I noticed there were pictures taped to the mirror of Joe and Terri, from the time they were about 15. They were in various stages of dress, undress and costume. I must admit I was starting to get rattled. There was a whiteboard in this room, too, with various notes written on it about who was going to shower first, etc. I wrote, 'keys'. I didn't want to cuff him and not be able to let him out. He showed me the keys were in his pocket. I REALLY didn't want to know why the keys to Terri's underwear drawer handcuffs were in Joe's pocket.

Joe waved his hands in the air and pointed at his eyes. He was telling me to focus. "I'm going to handcuff you!" I said, very convincingly.

He sort of rolled his eyes and grimaced.

I could hear Terri laughing aloud from the living room.

Joe presented his hands behind his back and I cuffed him.

On the way out of the apartment, he kicked a few things over, cursed a lot in Italian and stuck his tongue out at Terri who sent him a big smoochy kiss as we were walking to my rental car. I took just a moment on the way out to write on the white board, "Terri, you could use some time on the thigh master." on the dry-erase board.

I was supposed to present him to a contact at the Detroit PD for transportation to Trenton and they were to smuggle him to me offsite after that.

We followed the plan. I was delivered to a nice little house that was stocked for us. Roses on the coffee table, and Boston Crème's in the kitchen told me that Joe was coming here to meet me soon.

I waited…and waited…and waited.


	13. Chapter 13

Undercover Chapter 13

I couldn't understand what was taking so long. The plan had been for me to apprehend Joe and to take him and turn him in at the Detroit PD. They gave me a ride to a little furnished house and I've been here waiting for Joe almost 3 hours. What the hell? Where is he?

I've paced, explored the house, read the two magazines that I bought for the plane ride, and fixed my hair and makeup again. I'm ready now. Come out, Come out, Wherever you are!

My thoughts tumbled around in my head. I'd made the apprehension at 2pm and turned him in at 2:45. I arrived here at around 3:15. I've eaten all the Boston Crème's that were in the kitchen and am starting to get worried. Joe doesn't have a cell phone. I could call the PD, I guess and ask for the contact we used. I don't know. I'll just watch TV for a while and maybe he'll show up.

I was awakened by a sort of a mechanical sound. After getting reoriented, I realized I must have just fallen asleep watching TV. I'd only been out for about 20 minutes. There's the same noise again that woke me up. What is it? Oh! It was the garage door opener. Joe must be here. I got up and smoothed myself out. I went to the kitchen to find my handsome husband coming in through the door. Oh, boy.

He looked great. He had obviously showered, shaved, and gotten a haircut. He looked like my Joe again. Confident, sexy and handsome. "Wow, you look great. Did you do all that for me?" I asked.

"Yeah, and also because all that hair itches. I was starting to worry I was getting fleas!" He grinned and took off a black leather jacket. I noticed that all of the clothes he had been wearing when I picked him up were just a fraction too large, giving him the appearance of someone who had lost weight, but now I could see he was in perfect condition, and I mean everywhere. He crossed the room in two steps and hugged me to him. I wanted to bask in his warmth, his scent and his masculinity. He'd stolen a quick kiss after I'd handcuffed him at his and Terri's apartment, but I was ready for a real kiss. We hadn't really spoken at all on the way to the PD, I guess it was just nerves, so this was really our first time to get to be together today.

I grabbed his face and pressed my lips to his. Feeling his chest swell with a deep inhale, our tongues danced together in a fast erotic frenzy. Eventually, we both intentionally slowed our breathing and relaxed into a warm bath of love in each others' mouths.

"I'm happy to see you," I purred.

"You look wonderful. You smell great. I missed you." He said, resting his cheek on the top of my head. "Stand back, and let me look at you." At first it felt like the kind of look your Aunt would give you when she saw you once a year at Christmas and wanted to see how much you'd grown. However, Joe's look was far from anything any Aunt had ever given me. He held me back at arms length and looked at me from basically my shoulders to my crotch. He twirled me around and I knew he was assessing both the baby and the breasts. He seemed happy with what he saw, because, then he hooked his index finger in my neckline and stepped forward to take a peek down my shirt. This was a Morelli move from way back. He was smiling that smart-ass grin and looking at me like the cat that was ready to eat the canary. I noticed he was wearing his wedding ring on his finger again and it warmed me all the way through to see it. Joe never forgets the details. Except for maybe asking me to marry him. Stephanie, I said to myself, that was a long time ago and a galaxy far, far away. Forget about it.

"Let me get my gear out of the car and set up a couple of things and then I'm all yours." He said, sort of in a rush, it seemed.

I pouted, "I thought you were all mine already."

"Smart ass," he said as he popped me on the butt and started back outside to the garage. Turning back to me, he added, "And I must say, your ass is feeling very smart. Not mad at me for making you go to the gym?" He was sort of caressing my butt cheeks in both of his hands. He kissed me again and just when I thought I'd made him forget about the garage, he turned on his heel and went back on outside. He returned a moment later with a duffel bag, and a laptop computer case. He kicked the garage door shut with his foot and carried the stuff to the dining table.

He was wearing a long sleeved t-shirt and jeans. They both fit him great and I could see the tight muscles in his arms while he was carrying the bags. He sat them down on the floor by the dining room table and went to work setting up the laptop. Every time he bent down to get the computer, to plug something in, or to get something else from the bag, I was treated to his shirt stretching tight across his back. His muscles rippled pleasantly, just calling for me to touch him and feel them for myself. He was now sitting down at the table and getting everything turned on, including me. I walked over and put my hand on the back of his neck. He smiled up and me and pulled out the chair next to him and said, "Sit down and talk to me while I'm doing this. How's Bob? I miss the little guy. Of course, not as much as I miss you, but still…"

"He's great. He's now a world traveler." I went on to tell Joe about Bob's big adventure and how he had been gone almost the entire time Joe had.

"Oh, Honey, I'm so sorry that happened to you." He stopped what he was doing to look at me. I could see real concern shining from his eyes to mine. That's so sweet. "I'm sure it really tore you up that we were both gone. I know you had to be worried about him." He hugged me to him again and kissed me on the temple. The computer beeped, so he turned his attention back to it. He looked like he was logging in to some network or something.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Well, I am monitoring the network traffic coming from the Takata family." He was squinting to read some characters that were flashing on the screen. "You know they hired Terri to be their PR person. So, she got us into the network. I worked with a couple of Feds to get us tapped into their network administration area. However, the organization isn't technically sophisticated at all," He chuckled, "and just after we hacked in, they actually gave Terri the responsibility to be their network administrator – they just handed it to us. Basically, that just means, in their case, anyway, that she just adds people to the system and unlocks their passwords and stuff like that. There's a lot more to being a network administrator than that if you are a real one, but for this organization, if they have any real technical issues, they call in a contractor, and now that Terri is the contact, we've put an insider on the hook to be that technician."

"I didn't know you knew much about computers," you learn something new every day about this guy.

"Well, I've learned a lot about them since we've been here. Not like there's a lot else going on. I'm just Terri's drugged out boy-toy as far as they're concerned. They keep sending me samples of their wares. We're just holding on to them as evidence. Of course Terri's been known to partake a bit herself – I did too, a long time ago, but she still does occasionally, I think. Anyway, back on the subject, we think they are doing something fishy," he laughed, "well, I guess we KNOW they're doing something fishy, but we just aren't sure what. It seems like their network traffic has been increasing so much in the past couple of weeks, there has to be something new going on."

"Okay," he looked at me. He grabbed my hand and stood up. "Let's go get something to eat. I'm starving. Then we can come back here and get reacquainted."

I was trying not to let the disappointment show in my eyes. I was hungry, too, but I wanted to get reacquainted NOW.

I guess, from talking to my friends, that most women need to feel emotionally attached with their husband to want sex. I'm the opposite. I need to feel sexually attached to Joe before I can do much in the emotional department. Luckily, he and I are very compatible on this front. He can share emotions and feelings better than I can any day.

"Unless," he said, drawing me into a deep, deep kiss, and sliding his hands under my blouse up my bare back.

When he finally broke away, I cocked my head at him and said, "Well, I was sort of hoping…" I glanced down the hall toward the bedroom.

"I thought you'd never ask," he said, his voice husky, and his smile wolfish. He put one arm around my ribcage and another behind my knees and scooped me up.

He carried me down the hall to the bedroom and gently placed me on the bed. He stretched out next to me, caressing my body and kissing me all the while. He kicked his shoes off and reached down to pull my boots off of me. Joe loves to undress me. Usually I'm too impatient to let him, but I thought today I should practice as much restraint as possible – which wasn't much considering that pregnancy had revved up my already strong libido and I hadn't had sex in over two months! He stopped and turned on the CD player next to the bed, and some very sexy Kenny G music floated into the air. Details, details. That's Joe.

By the time he had removed my blouse and spent considerable time admiring and kissing my belly, I was starting to feel frantic to get on with the show. Steeling myself against my own growing desires, I leaned forward and pulled off his shirt. If I could just feel his skin against mine, I thought I would be sustained for a few minutes. Boy, was I wrong. I just wanted him more. However, he was of a single mind and that mind was bent on removing my new, larger bra that was accommodating my greatly enlarged breasts. He seemed very pleased with the new developments and looked at me with love in his eyes and asked, "Wow. Can we keep them?"

I giggled and hit him in the shoulder. He spent a few moments kissing underneath my breasts where the underwires had dimpled my skin. "God, your nipples are huge. They're…mmmm." Okay, I think Joe is a boob guy. That's okay, I like his butt. It is excellent. I guess everyone fancies something, but I am sort of worried that his favorite toys may not stand the test of time and motherhood. Well, we'll put that thought on the back burner. Right now, he seems very eager to explore his new playground.

He'd worked his way down and had discovered the incredibly sexy front panel that comes on every pair of maternity pants. This was probably new to Joe. I have never asked him point blank if he's ever been intimate with a pregnant woman, but I'm thinking 'no'. He seemed sort of perplexed at the fact that there was no zipper and he was married to a woman wearing an elastic adjustable waistband. I just reached down and snapped the jeans off quickly to avoid any further consternation. He took his jeans off as well as his socks.

He was wearing some really sexy little 'package' cuddling briefs. Ooh. I caught a glimpse of the back, it's a thong. I sort of like these. Unfortunately, I wasn't familiar with them. Where did he get these? Did Terri…? Okay, Stephanie, you have resolved to get over your insecurities. Yes, your husband did know that she had handcuffs in her underwear draw….ooh. Joe had found my own new undies with which he was also unfamiliar. He was nibbling and licking his way around the waistband. It was a maternity thong. Yes, they make them, and yes, I bought one in every color. I had an excellent view of my favorite ass in his own little sexy red thong. I was determined to rid us both of these inconvenient devices as soon as possible. I reached out and stroked him through the satiny finish. "Stephanie, don't touch. Not now." That seemed a bit harsh, and I took it as a challenge.

"Oh, yeah? Who says I can't touch? You are touching." I was leaning toward his crotch and he batted my hand away.

"I'm serious. It's been two fuckin' months. I'm about to explode here! Just leave me alone and it will be fine." He was awfully grouchy and demanding for a man who wanted sex.

Naturally, it pissed me off. "Excuse me? How long do you think it's been for me? You aren't the only one about to explode, but I'm not denying you access."

He stopped what he was doing, which had been to remove my panties, and gave me a look like I was clearly insane. "Uh, you know, you can go all night. Once I'm done, the show's over for a little while, at least. I'm just warning you that one more little stroke like that and you may have just rained on your own parade."

Well, unfortunately, I got tickled and started giggling at that comment. "Well, Rainman, you'd better get busy, because I'm going to have a baby in just 5 short months and at the rate you're moving, we could still be here."

He started to get mad, and then he decided to just get happy instead. He hooked both thumbs into his own little 'panties' and shot them across the room. I was literally dripping by this point. He came up next to me and kissed me with his soft, sensual lips. We usually tend to make love in the morning before he shaves or in the evening when he's got a pretty good 5 o'clock shadow going, but he'd just shaved a couple of hours or so ago. His face was smooth and I was really enjoying the feeling that I could kiss him all night without getting scratched. Don't get me wrong, I love the feel of his stubble, too, but this was just a different tactile feeling.

He was pushing his fingers into me and it felt like an exquisite preview of the main feature to come. His thumb was resting on my favorite spot but he hadn't moved it yet, darn it. He bent his head to my nipple. He was biting and tugging at it. I loved the feeling of his rough tongue and his teeth, but my nipples were more sensitive than usual due, I guess, to the pregnancy. I opened my mouth to ask him to ease up a little when the next nip he took set off the most amazingly delicious orgasm. It was like the pain and pleasure were intermingled in such an exquisite dance that I didn't know where one started and the other ended. He felt my body contracting, releasing and sucking at his fingers inside of me. I'm sure I made some characteristic sound so that he knew exactly what happened. When I opened my eyes and found those gorgeous pools of chocolate brown looking at me with love and amazement, he said. "Shit, you are just like something out of a wet dream!"

At this point, he was forced into action. He positioned himself over me, and entered my body gently. Too gently. I was waiting for him to press into me. I needed to feel him…everywhere. I put my arms around his chest and back and tried to pull him toward me. He seemed somehow resistant. I found his eyes and he was looking at me with love. I knew he had more to give me. I wanted to feel his weight on my body. I wanted him so close to me that I could feel his breath on my body, to be able to kiss him and taste his skin.

"Come on. Don't tease me. Make love to me, Joe." I wrapped my legs around his and thrust upwards and he didn't really respond like I wanted – like I needed. I finally scolded him, "What the hell are you doing? This is your specialty. Come on!" I was getting really impatient.

"Honey, I don't want to hurt you." He looked so…uncertain. I understood. When he left, I wasn't showing at all. Now I was, but still barely. He was scared he was going to hurt me or the baby. Okay I get it. He needs to know that I'm not a china doll and the baby really couldn't care less what was happening between us.

"Oh, that's sweet, really. Yeah. Well, you know, think about it this way, Joe. You've never hurt me before. You always manage to make me feel pretty damn good, you know? Remember just a few days before you left I told you that a woman's body was a pretty good incubator for a baby? It still is. Even when my tummy sticks way out to my knees, I promise, there will be room for you. We may have to be a little more creative on the position, but I'm still going to want to make love to you as much as ever." While I was giving him this pep talk, I was still sort of thrusting into him ineffectively, so I quit.

I decided the only way to convince him was to prove it, so I performed my very own patented technique. I slid both of my legs around him and grabbed his ankles with my feet and wrestled him for the top. It worked. He was laughing and smiling. I was in control and did a pretty good job as Captain Morelli steering the ship. I pushed down hard and deep and he groaned. As I established our rhythm, he understood that nothing between us had changed. If anything, it was enhanced, as evidenced by his fascination with my breasts. He was again sucking at them and muttering something about my nipples reminding him of bullets.

He lasted longer than I expected. He lasted longer, actually than I did. He survived me having 3 or 4 orgasms before finally exploding into me himself. And I do mean exploding. I'm usually too busy or too distracted, to feel him come, but I certainly did tonight. Superman doesn't have anything on my husband. Joe's magic – but I've said that before.

In the afterglow, I suggested that we just order pizza or something. I didn't want to go anywhere. I wanted to just hang out at 'home' with Joe. I'd missed him and I wanted him to be here with just me. I knew that our days as a couple were waning away and I wanted some quality time with him by myself.

"Good idea, Cupcake. I've found an okay place. They aren't as good as Pino's but they'll have to do." He pulled on a pair of sweats from his duffel wandered down the hall to call in the order. He came back to snag a t-shirt and his shoes. "I'm gonna go grab some drinks. What do you want me to bring you?" He flopped down on the bed next to me. "There's a grocery store just around the corner. I can get whatever you want."

"I already told you. All I want is you." I kissed his eyelids while he rested his head on my shoulder.

"You got it, baby. Forever." He winked at me, got up and took off to the store.

Lucky me.

By the time Joe got back about 15 minutes later, I'd managed to toss on a sexy little pair of jammies that looked like something that Barbara Eden would have worn as preggo Jeannie on the TV series. The pink top was short and let my tummy peek out over the filmy fabric of the little pants, which gathered and tied at my ankles.

Joe ogled my body with admiration and lust. I liked that. It was exactly what I'd hoped for when I bought the outfit.

We turned on Game 4 of the World Series, and watched while we munched on pizza. Finally he asked, "How's everyone taken the news? Tell me who's pissed at me."

"Let's see," I began, "Your Grandma Bella had Dunphy convinced she had neutered you for a while with some burning herbs, but I think, based on tonight's performance I can vouch for your full recovery. Your brother Marc is a total ass and he's going to have to answer to me before it's all said and done and my sister and her dipwad attorney husband are going to have to be put to death if they don't quit pushing me to file for divorce. Other than that, I think everyone is fine."

"That's about what I expected." He was grinning at me. "Grandma Bella has a flair for the dramatic. Marc is just a total asshole and Valerie just loves you." He thought for a minute. "What about Tony? What does Tony think?"

Hmmmm. How do I answer this? "Well…." I paused, my eyebrows forming a question mark over my head. "Um…."

Joe sat up strait as a board. "Did that craphead make a pass at you?" He was looking straight at me with fire blazing in his eyes.

Uh oh. "I'm not sure. I didn't really hang around long enough to find out. It was right after you left. I don't really think he meant anything by it, but I was kind of uncomfortable. Really, don't get all worked up about it. I really don't even know if he meant anything by it. He just sort of stood close to me and he touched my tummy – It just sort of creeped me out. I don't want to start a family feud if he didn't mean anything by it." I was just babbling at this point. Joe was on his feet.

"Fuck! He is such a dickhead. I can't believe he would do that again! This is so……ugh!" He obviously was so frustrated he couldn't verbalize his feelings. He went straight for my cell phone. I knew he was calling Tony.

"No, Joe. Let's not do this tonight. Like I said, I'm not even sure if he did anything wrong. I was tired. I've been around him several times since then and he hasn't done anything." I took the cell phone away from him and terminated the call. "Um, did you say again? What do you mean, AGAIN?"

He looked so disgusted. "Tony is such a pervert. He loves pregnant women. You know how some women just can't stay away from married men, for some reason? That wedding ring just draws them in? Tony is that way about pregnancies. Marc and Barbara have four kids. Tony has hit on her every damn time she was pregnant. She even took him up on it once. It was so sick. I really thought he'd leave you alone. Number one, because he should be afraid you'd kick his ass. Number two, because he should know I would. DAMN!" He kicked his laptop bag. It was empty and it just thunked ineffectively against the wall.

"Joe, you have got to calm down. I really didn't know what to think that night. You should have warned me. I could have been ready and I would have known to knee him in the crotch or something. As it was, I didn't know what the heck was going on. Like I said, it's over. No harm, no foul. If he ever touches me again, I'll be sure to let you know and you can kill the sonofabitch. If not, fine." One big happy family, although I will be a bit more wary of Mr. Tony Morelli from now on.

Totally changing the subject, I said, "Hey, I have a couple of questions for you. If, hypothetically, you had some body damage to your car, where would you take it to get fixed?"

"Hypothetically?" He asked, sitting back down and smiling in my direction. "Well, I guess, hypothetically, I would take it to Murphy's Body Shop on Klein. Why do you ask, Sweetheart?"

I smiled back, "Well, I have a friend, you see, who is a real dope and she ran into her husband's truck with her car the day he ran away with another woman to start an undercover operation in another city."

Still smiling Joe said, "This friend, will she trade sexual favors to keep this accident a secret from her husband?"

"Probably," I responded with a gleam in my eye. I slid across the sofa and straddled Joe's lap. I gave him a big sloppy kiss and felt very clever about the way I handled this situation. "Are you ready for the next question?" I could feel some hopeful twitching beneath Joe's sweatpants, so I was trying to continue the flirting as long as possible.

"Sure. Shoot." He said, grinning.

"Oh, no, Officer Morelli." I shook a finger in his face, "Shooting is your job. I'll just stick with asking questions. Okay?" Joe didn't say anything, obviously enjoying my undivided attention. He was looking at me with adoring eyes and smiling.

"Okay, I got this bill in the mail…or rather you got this bill in the mail and it is for a storage locker in Baltimore, Maryland," Omigod! Joe is actually embarrassed. I didn't think it was possible. He is blushing. He has his hands over his face. He is embarrassed.

"Crap. I meant to do something about that. I promise I will just as soon as I get off this assignment, okay?" He still has his hands over his face. He's sort of peeking at me between his fingers. I am obviously going to have to dig to get to the bottom of this mystery.

"You don't have to do anything about it, Sweetie, I just want to know what it's all about," I said very innocently.

He pulled his hands down and put them on my hips. He had a silly grimace on his face and I could tell he really wanted to change the subject. He blew out a long sigh. "Okay, just because you'll freak out if I don't tell you. Well, Cupcake, you know I'm not really a sentimental guy, right?"

"Right," I said, with a little wiggle of my hips just to keep him focused.

"Aw, shit. Well, remember I said that when I got out of the Navy I just bought an old car and drove it until it basically fell apart?" He had his eyes closed again and his head tossed back across the back of the sofa. He was acting so silly about this.

"Yes, I remember," wiggle.

"It was my Dad's car. It is a 1970 Challenger. Dad drove it until he died and then Marc got it and then Tony bought it from him and then I bought it from Tony. I don't know why it means so damn much to me and I'm just really embarrassed about it. I promise I'll get rid of it. I've meant to for years. I just haven't done it. I'm sorry." Huh? He's sorry?

"Joe, why are you apologizing to me? I don't care if you want to keep a hooker in that locker as long as I know about it and the last time you accessed it was 2001. You can keep it as long as you want." How silly is this? He's embarrassed about keeping an old car that he's sentimental about.

"Oh, I always thought I'd fix it up someday and it would be really cool. That's never going to happen. I know that. It's silly for me to spend $500 bucks a year to keep a 36 year old car carcass in a storage locker in Maryland."

"Oh, I get it. 1970. That's the year you were born. How sweet." I leaned forward and kissed him. My muscle guy has an old muscle car that he loves. "I don't want you to get rid of that. That's really nice. I think you should keep it." I had stopped wiggling because this really silly subject seemed really important to Joe.

"Honey, in 18 years, that $500 a year could really help put Muffin through college. It's a silly way to spend money and I know it. I'll take care of it." He was trying to come to terms with it. I knew the subject wasn't closed so I'll just drop it for now.

I figured we'd covered all the big bases we needed to for one night, so I was ready to get this big boy back into the bedroom down the hall.

I interlaced the fingers of my right hand with his left and his left hand with my right so that we could face each other and then I carefully hopped down off his lap. I pulled him off of the sofa and walked backward, beckoning him to follow me down the hall to the bedroom. I pulled him down on top of me and we wiggled up onto the bed together. We had a wonderful session of hands-free sex. The entire time, our fingers stayed interlaced, with our hands above our heads for the most part. It's amazing what you can do with toes, teeth and a lot of determination.

We slept intertwined like an intimate pretzel. I hadn't slept so well in over two months.


	14. Chapter 14

Undercover Chapter 14

"Joe! Wake up!" I wasn't thinking very clearly. You should never wake a cop up like that, because he immediately goes for his gun.

"What? What's wrong?" He had retrieved the gun from the drawer next to the bed and was trying to orient his eyes to the darkness.

"No. Put the gun down! Feel this!" It was 4:45 a.m. Apparently the baby had a gymnastics class scheduled. I took both of Joe's palms and pressed them into my belly.

Even in the darkness of the room, I could see him smiling. He reoriented his body to place his head on my tummy and keep his right hand on the spot where he could feel the baby move. My arm was draped across his shoulder and he was holding my hand with his free one. I fell back asleep. I was tired and finally getting used to the feeling of the baby moving inside me. I suspect he stayed awake to savor these precious moments that would be too few with this child.

Joe was glistening with sweat and exertion when he climbed out of bed later that morning. Again, I fell back into a satisfied sleep. He woke me an hour later. This time he was glistening with sweat and exertion. Had I missed something? "Uh, Joe? Where have you been?"

"I jogged down to the bakery to get you some breakfast. It was so great to get some exercise outside. I can't do that when I'm undercover. He had on sweats and he had stripped off his shirt after he warmed up, I assume, because it was tucked into the waistband of his pants. I could look at his finely developed upper body all day, as long as I got to see his finely developed lower body sometimes, too.

He put a cup of coffee and a full thermos on my bedside table and tossed me the bakery bag. Then he put a newspaper down on the bed next to me, gave me a terrific kiss and trooped off to the shower. He came back a few minutes later, all clean and wonderful looking. He snuggled up beside me and kissed my temple. The hair on his chest had little tiny water droplets in it, fresh from the shower and he smelled wonderful. Joe doesn't need cologne. He smells great naturally – to me at least. He rummaged around and found the sports section.

"What do you want to do today?" he asked.

"We already did part of it," I leaned over and captured his mouth with mine. Yum.

"Will you go on a date with me tonight?" he asked, those chocolate eyes caressing my soul. "When we're at home, we're both always working and we don't usually go out anywhere nice."

"How could I resist you? I brought a dress, and yes, high spiky heels, because I knew you would like that."

He didn't look up from the paper but his mouth twisted into a wicked smile. "Lucky me," he said. "I'm going to call my mom later. I'm sure she'd be pretty ticked if I didn't call her when I'm away from prying eyes. When we talked last night, you never told me how my sisters took the news. How are they with it?"

"Well, I think they know something's up. Same thing for most of the cops in town. They all seem to be following the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy. Mary Lou definitely knows. She assumed I was coming to see you this weekend, but I didn't tell her anything. Grandma Mazur is just curious about what kind of drugs you are into. Lula is going to kill you. Connie – omigod – do you know about Connie and Dunphy?"

He grimaced. "She's not really into him, is she? She's just there for the sex, right? I mean Connie is really not at all his type."

"Why? I think they're cute together," I whined. "She knows that he's a cop and he knows who her family is, so that's a little awkward but they seemed really into each other the last time I saw them. And I think I interrupted them having sex the other night."

Joe was still absorbed in the newspaper. "Yeah, well, Sex is one thing. A relationship is another. I'm telling you, he likes a little more, uh, 'junk in the trunk' than Connie has. He could never have a relationship with someone who didn't outweigh him. Lula is more Dunphy's type than Connie."

I just sat there with my mouth open. I didn't even know what to say. "Why does he always point out those girls in the gym that are all cute and perky if he likes the bigger ones?"

Joe laughed, "Well, you've got to start somewhere. It's like picking a puppy. You can guess how big it will be when it's grown by how big its feet are. He's trying to figure out if she has potential – you know, when she's 'full grown' so to speak. Like, if she was to gain 75 or 100 pounds, would some of it go to her chest or would it all just go straight to her ass? It's something we've done for years, with remarkable accuracy, I might add…"

Absolutely speechless, I just went to get in the shower. This was way more information than I wanted to know about Dunphy.

When I was done, I was drying my hair and Joe came to play with his new toys. My hands were on my hair, and he was standing behind me, sort of lifting my breasts up in his palms and trying to see how much heavier they were now and watching the whole production in the bathroom mirror. He was kissing my neck and I wasn't at all minding the attention, when, I'll be damned, he did it again. One good nipple pinch and I was gone. He was looking at his hands like he had just discovered he had magic powers or something. I knew he did, but I didn't really want him to know. I was holding on to the counter and sort of panting. I was weak kneed and definitely not thinking about drying my hair.

"Cool!" he said as he pulled me by the hand back toward the bed. We were both still naked from our showers, so no wasted time there. I was convinced, once and for all, that nothing must have been going on with Terri because he was even more insatiable than usual. Joe likes sex. A lot of sex. And frequently. So do I, but I was starting to fear permanent damage if he didn't give me a break soon. I think he was, too, because he commented that he needed to have some recuperation time before **I** 'dragged him back to bed again.'

I went to get dressed for the day. It was 2:15 already, for goodness sakes. Of course, it takes Joe 10 minutes to get dressed and to look perfect. It takes me a bit longer, especially since I was still learning how to wear and adjust maternity clothes. When I was finally presentable, I found him at the computer. "Have you seen my stick drive? It's about this long," He had his thumb and forefinger separated about 3 inches, "and sort of a shiny tan color…."

"Honey, you are far too modest, the last time I remember seeing your stick drive, it was a great deal longer than that, and relatively substantial, too, and it was between your legs." I winked at him. "Are you talking about this, though?" I'd been using this little doohickey that looked like a piece of computer equipment as a bookmark in a book on natural childbirth. I have no idea why I needed a bookmark, as there was no way in the world I was going through what they described in that book.

He liked the compliment. Joe's pretty damn vain about his body and he loves that I love it, too. I've seen more than one woman walk into a door frame or trip over things because she was looking at him instead of watching where she was going. One day he was getting gasoline and two girls who were riding bikes closeby veered into each other and they both went down. He went over to make sure they were okay, but they were both so embarrassed they couldn't even talk to him. I have to admit, it's an ego trip to be married to him.

I needed to clear the air on one thing. "Joe, about Tony, I don't want to start a family feud. Let's just see how it goes. I'll handle it if he does anything stupid."

Joe was grinning. "Cupcake, if there was anyone in the world that Tony wouldn't want to answer to about that little episode more than you or I, who would it be?" he asked.

"I don't know. Who?"

"Our Mom. So, I did exactly what all pesky little brothers are supposed to do. I called her and I tattled on him. That was about 15 minutes ago, so he should be coughing his testicles up out of his throat soon." He seemed very pleased with this line of attack.

"Joe! Why would you do that?" I felt terrible.

"Honey, in our family, Mom is usually the only one who can really settle the really ugly stuff and keep it from escalating to bloodshed. I considered just killing him outright, but that would involve jail time and I figured then you would kill me, and then who would take care of Muffin? So, I decided to take the approach that has worked in my favor all my life. Let Mommy handle it. Tony will shit himself when she brings it up. I can't wait." He was rubbing his hands together. I was thinking, oh, this sibling thing is really tricky. I really hope Muffin and the future Muffins all get along. The worst thing Valerie and I have ever really done to each other is when we cut each other's hair when she was 6 and I was 4.

Since it was already so late, and Joe said he was taking me out to a nice dinner, we opted to stay in and just talk and catch up a little. Joe had stocked the kitchen with essentials. Coffee, bread, peanut butter, olives, milk, beer and chocolate ice cream. What more do you need for a little love shack?

He made sandwiches and we curled up on the couch to eat. He asked about baby names. I said I really wanted to name our first son after him, whether this was it or we'd have to try again for a boy. Joseph Anthony Morelli, Jr. He seemed proud that I suggested that. I had been thinking about girl names but nothing was standing out. We talked about family names and discovered that we'd each had a grandmother named Sophia, his mom's mom and my dad's mom. That sealed the deal. We also agreed that we'd use my maiden name for her middle name. Sophia Plum Morelli. That sounds like a nice name to me.

I remembered the sonogram photos and the video so we looked at those. I hated having to cram so much stuff into the short time we had together. We were both on sensory and emotional overload. He was really speechless after seeing the video and just sat with his arms around me on the sofa for a long time. He was studying my face and struggling to keep his emotion down. I knew that the conflict in his soul was stirring at a faster speed than it had been before I came. I felt bad for him. I wanted to lighten the mood.

I asked him, "Honey, how do you get the notes to me and how does Dunphy get in touch with you?" I asked.

He started, "Well, the notes are pretty easy. I am a drug addict, pretending anyway, and I am an ice cream lover, you know that part's real. We just got a retired cop to drive an ice cream truck through the neighborhood until it got too cool. I would wander out there and buy ice cream and hand him the notes with the money. I usually send little short updates to my boss that way, too. It worked great but then it got cold, so we had to change tactics. We were going to have someone pose as a dealer and I could go make a transaction with him on a regular basis, but we realized that the real dealers would put a hitman on him, so we decided to just invent a beggar. The same retired officer from the ice cream truck just wanders by me periodically and I hand him money with the notes."

He continued, "If Dunphy needs me, he calls Terri's cell and tries to order a pizza or something. She lets me know to call him. I have to go to a convenience store and use a land line – they're not as easily traced or intercepted as cell signals are."

I asked him, "How about the case? Have you had any big breaks? Oh, and I found out what the Duncan Donuts lot used to have on it!"

He sighed. "You are such a smart girl. I'm so lucky. I already have that information, however." He leaned in for a kiss, "As for the case, I wouldn't say we've had big breaks. These guys are such morons. I had to rewire all of their bugs in our apartment because they did a crappy job and couldn't hear us. We had to yell everything at each other for the first two days and Terri lost her voice. I must say, it was pretty peaceful…." I smiled at him and held his hand. "Sara's family is still involved in the imports business, but they are here in Detroit now. I have a few ideas about the tie in."

Our dinner reservations were for 7:30. Joe had spent a little time on the computer, and that was fine with me. I was reading another book on childbirth and choosing appropriate lines to read aloud to him. He was attentive and sweet to me. When I announced that I wanted something salty he went to the store and got me some chips and some microwave popcorn. We were two relaxed homebodies who were just happy to be together.

Around 6, I decided I wanted to do something special with my hair, so I wandered down the hall and started fooling with it and trying to reason with it. My hair doesn't reason well, but I finally got it going in a way I liked. I'd found a very cute dress to wear. It was deep blue, had a v-neck, a fitted bust, and of course, a flowing skirt which ended an inch or two above my knee. I made myself wear some evil pantyhose and I had found some 3 inch heels that matched perfectly. I had piled my curls on top of my head, allowing just a couple to escape the confines of the knot on top. Thinking back, Joe and I hadn't gone on many dates. We'd gone places together but they were usually very casual, happening on the spur of the moment or just out of convenience. Other than our wedding and a couple of other wedding's we had attended, I haven't had much reason to really get dressed up in the last few years. I was feeling very pleased about how my outfit had come together. I had just finished putting on my diamond earrings, which had been a wedding present from Joe, when he appeared in the doorway. He gave a low wolf whistle. I turned to look at him.

He took my breath away. He's such a handsome guy. He was wearing a French blue long sleeved shirt, with charcoal grey silk slacks. He had on black Italian loafers, and a woven belt. I wanted to jump his bones right then and there. We would have been late for dinner, however, and I was awfully hungry.

Joe held my hand and chatted with me on the way to Treos. It was a lovely restaurant, with beautiful live violin and piano music serving as a romantic backdrop. Almost every table was set for two people. We were seated in an intimate little curved booth near a window. This was a perfect place to spend a perfect evening with my husband. The candlelight was making his dark eyes appear even darker. He kissed my fingertips and told me I was beautiful. "How about a glass of wine, Cupcake? I checked with Dr. Hands and he said it would be fine." I nodded in acceptance, not trusting my voice. Joe's not typically the romantic type or at least not like this. He gets romantic in the kitchen before we go to bed, you know, but that has a utilitarian purpose, if you know what I mean.

Joe ordered our wine and surveyed the menu. I knew he would want steak and that's what I wanted, too. He ordered for both of us, remembering that I wanted my steak medium-well. When the wine came, he said, "To us, Cupcake." How sweet. If he's hoping to get laid tonight, I think he has a damn good chance.

Since we'd spent 24 hours together with only sleep and brief separations today interrupting our interactions, it would seem we would have run out of things to say, but we were still chattering away when our food arrived. The steaks were wonderful and I had to try to keep from moaning with every bite. I think Joe loves the fact that I get such satisfaction from food. It's just another sensual experience, almost an extension of sex for me.

Of course, the highlight of any dinner for me is the dessert cart. We couldn't choose so we ordered three different desserts to share.

He was holding my hand and kissing my palm when he said, "Cupcake, what's this on your wedding ring? It's all smudged. Let me clean it for you." I wanted to object when he removed my ring. I hadn't taken it off since he placed it on my finger during the ceremony on June 3. I relinquished it, however, since he was being so sweet. He rubbed it a bit with his napkin and when he put it back on my finger, it was definitely shinier. And very sparkly. He had slipped a jacket around it that was comprised of two thin diamond encrusted gold bands held together by a little bridge of sorts that supported the most beautiful marquis diamond solitaire I've ever seen. I drew in a quick breath. "Joe…"

He shushed me. "I screwed this up once because I wasn't paying attention. I'm going to get it right tonight. I can't ask you to marry me – you already have, so I'll just say, Stephanie, will you be my wife?"

He seemed pleased with my reaction which included tears welling up in my eyes. I'd misplaced my voice momentarily and I just reached to him and hugged him to me. I kissed him on the lips and reminded myself what a lucky girl I am.

"I called Feiro's where we bought our bands and had it custom made for you. I think it suits your personality perfectly. It's simple and breathtaking at the same time. I love you, Cupcake."


	15. Chapter 15

Undercover 15

Tonight was the most romantic evening in my entire life. Joe looked absolutely delicious, and I felt happy and lucky to be me. Following a magical meal at a lovely restaurant, he had surprised me with a beautiful ring he had designed himself to make up for not ever giving me an engagement ring. He continued to charm and tease me on the drive back to the house. We sat in the car in the garage and we kissed, caressed and nuzzled each other until we were both anxious to move inside.

I paused in the kitchen to retrieve a candle and some matches I'd seen there earlier. I rushed to the bedroom, lit the candle and then went into the restroom to take care of business and to change into a sumptuous red satin negligee that I'd purchased last week. One last look in the mirror said 'all set'. I rounded the corner into the bedroom and there, in the candlelight was my incredibly sexy husband. His hair was slightly tousled from our makeout session in the garage. His pants and belt were undone, his shirt unbuttoned and untucked, his shoes still on his feet.

And he was sound asleep on the bed. I mean sound asleep. I cleared my throat. I coughed twice. I sat down on the bed – not gently. I tried nuzzling his neck and biting his earlobe. I turned on the CD player beside the bed. Loud. I thumped him in the arm. Nothing. Fine. I stalked down the hall to watch TV. I found a bag of Oreos in the cabinet and ate them all. Joe would wake up and come find me and I'd make him make it up to me. He did come to get me, but not until dawn. I remember him carrying me and putting me in bed. He was dressed for his run. I think he knew he was in hot water because he didn't even hint at wanting sex; he really didn't say much to me, for that matter.

Again, he brought me donuts and coffee in bed, left me with the newspaper and hit the shower. This morning was much like yesterday without benefit of magical sex. Relatively speaking, it was still a pretty nice morning. We have all day today and then tomorrow morning together before Joe has to go back to work.

Around noon, my cell phone rang. Joe retrieved it for me and handed it to me with a puzzled look. The caller ID said it was Dunphy. I didn't think he'd call and interrupt our weekend for anything short of a disaster, so I answered cautiously. "Hello, Dunphy?"

"Yeah, friend, I'm sorry to bug you. Is that SOB husband of yours around there where I can talk to him?" he inquired.

"Sure." I handed the phone to Joe.

Joe smiled, and took the phone, "Hey. Why you calling to bug me? I screwed up last night and I'm trying for some makeup sex here." Joe's face sobered. He assumed full cop demeanor. "Everything okay now?" I heard him ask. He was looking at the floor. "How bad is it?" I was looking at him and hoping he would give me a clue what was going on.

Joe stood and walked down the hall, probably to get away from me, so naturally, I followed him. He frowned when he saw me. He motioned for me to go back down the hall, but I crossed my arms and stood my ground. He ran his fingers through his hair and blew out a long breath. He was listening intently. "Any idea who it was? Okay, let me talk to Stephanie and I'll call you back," he chuckled once but I could tell it was forced. "Thanks for taking care of everything."

Joe explained to me, "Mrs. Stone called 911in Trenton this morning to report that our back door was standing open and the house looked like it had been ransacked." Mrs. Stone was our next door neighbor.

My hand flew to my face. "Joe, who would break into our house? We don't have anything anyone wants, do we?"

Joe circled my body with his arms in a comforting gesture. "The only thing I have of value is you." He kissed me on the head three times and put his cheek against my forehead. "You don't have any psychopaths chasing you that I don't know about, do you?" He had to ask. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be the first time.

I actually had to think about it. "No. No. Pretty sure I'm not in trouble with anyone scary right now. Everything's been unusually quiet."

"Did you leave any notes at the house, like where you were going to be this weekend or anything? I can't imagine anyone would break in for that, but just to be safe…." He was trying to think of every angle.

I responded, "No, I was careful not to leave anything. I've even got all the notes you sent to me at the gym stashed in my purse that I brought with me. I'm glad Bob and Rex weren't there when this happened." I guess the shock had worn off and I was crying now.

"It's okay, Honey. Dunphy said it didn't look like they destroyed anything or even took anything, for that matter. He said it looked like they were trying to find something specific. The worst part of the mess was in the kitchen, our bedroom and the office upstairs, which again is where people keep notes and things. That's why I thought they may have been looking for information. He said he's already got pretty much everything put back in place and not to worry. Oh, yeah, and he said to tell you the priceless Morelli family cradle was untouched!" Ha. That was funny. Joe was smiling and trying to get me to smile as well.

Joe called Dunphy back and told him we didn't have any ideas on who it could have been. We agreed not to let the incident ruin our last 24 hours together. I needed some exercise after being cooped up and being so lazy, so we took a long walk. We both missed Bob. He's so much fun to walk with. Joe said that it wouldn't be long before we'd have a baby to take on our walks with us, too. Once again, the thought of the imminent change due to take place in our lives was sobering and incredibly exciting. We looked forward with anticipation and a little bit of apprehension. By the time we got back to the house we were talking about jogging strollers, baby seats, baby bouncers, high chairs and all the hundreds of pounds and dollars worth of baby junk people thought they needed to lug around to deal with a six pound baby. We were laughing and in just the right mood for that makeup sex Joe had mentioned earlier.

He had apologized for falling asleep last night and told me that the 3 desserts on top of the big meal had just put him in a coma since he hadn't been eating much while undercover. I'd pouted for a while longer, just trying to milk it for all it was worth, but I finally said that it was okay.

The house was cool when we got inside but Joe was warm and sexy. I had removed his shirt and his shoes then he decided to build a fire in the fireplace in the living room. He made a little pallet on the floor in front of it with some blankets. I gladly joined him on the floor when he held his hand out to me. He was kissing and licking and nibbling my neck and unbuttoning my blouse to make his way down to my chest. I crave the feeling of his hard muscles when he isn't with me. I was going to make the best of it while I had him at my mercy and I was pressing into him and gripping him all over. I wanted to impress upon my memory the feeling of his body against mine. Almost as good as his legendary ass is his chest. It seems that his nipples are more sensitive than mine and certainly more than mine have ever been before my pregnancy. He has just enough hair on his chest to make him look sexy and it made a little trail down his hard belly as if it is an arrow pointing a sumptuous prize. Lucky for me, it is. He also has an eagle tattoo on his chest that he got in the Navy. It isn't big or obnoxious like some I've seen. It's just Joe. His abdomen was hard and I could see his muscles bunch, twitch and relax as he moved. He looked like one of those guys on the Bowflex infomercials on TV.

I helped him out of his jeans and underwear and he did the same for me. Yum. He looked so sexy in the afternoon glow mixed with the golden cast of the firelight. Since working on the elliptical so much, his thighs and ass were even more toned than before he left home. I was admiring those muscles as they rippled with his every move. He was laying opposite me, with his head at my feet and vice versa. He was propped on his elbow and was watching me with those gorgeous eyes. He started gently running his fingertips up and down my calves and thighs and stringing open mouthed kisses along the way, leaving a trail of cool saliva kisses like breadcrumbs marking his assent. He maneuvered around so that he could more comfortably pleasure me and I was treated to a full frontal view of this masterpiece called Joe.

As much as I enjoyed what he was doing, the view was making me impatient to feel him inside me. I've learned that the best way to make him as impatient as I feel is to take matters into my own hands…and mouth. It didn't take much of this to make Joe completely lose focus on his project. Soon, he had just rolled onto his back, moaning, and allowed me to take over. I repositioned myself and I was nuzzling his neck and pressing into that hard, masculine chest and abdomen. My thighs were grazing his and he was breathing raggedly while I held his interest in the palm of my hand. I bent my head down and gave one of his nipples a little playful nip and this sent Joe into motion. In one swift move, his eyes blazing with love and lust, Joe cradled me in his arms, rolled over on top of me and entered me completely. His eyes were closed and I could see his pulse beating in his neck.

He was groaning and whispering to me over and over again, "Stephanie, I love you so much. Oh, God, I love you so much." Long, urgent strokes gave way to almost no movement at all. We were both on the brink. He kissed me deeply and over the edge we flew. Together. Afterward, we continued to lay in the firelight. He supported himself on his forearms and looked into my eyes for the longest time.

He continued to kiss me, and caress my hair and face so tenderly. I knew that he was already thinking about having to leave me again tomorrow and it was almost too much for either of us to bear. He was being torn apart by hooks of guilt and obligation pulling him in so many directions. I needed to remind him that I believed he was doing the right thing. I needed him to know that I would be okay. I needed him to know that I would always be with him. Partners. Friends. Family. Lovers.

We both spoke so much that afternoon without saying any intelligible words; instead just assessing each other's souls by the glow of the fire. We kissed, nuzzled and murmured away our fears and insecurities. Each of us held a strong sense of admiration and trust for the other that fueled our love and passion. Caressing and feeling the love growing between us became of urgent importance.

Finally, when Joe heard my stomach growling, he offered, "How about peanut butter and olive sandwiches and chocolate ice cream for dinner?" He had a sort of a teasing grin on his face.

"I didn't think you liked peanut butter and olive sandwiches," I teased back.

"It's an acquired taste. I've been practically living off of them since being here. First because they remind me of you," he smiled and he planted a kiss on my nose and then stood up, "and secondly, because it really grosses Terri out." We both laughed at this comment.

He knew I was dying to ask, but could see me biting my tongue. "I have to hand it to you, Cupcake, you have been amazingly restrained this weekend. You haven't brought Terri up one time." He handed me my sandwich and plopped down next to me to eat his own. He used his index finger to guide my face so he could look me in the eyes. "I appreciate that you have decided to trust me. That means a lot to me."

He took a bite, and put a pillow from the sofa behind his back so he could lean against the fireplace hearth. As a reward for my amazing restraint, I guess he decided to share a little more information with me. "It hasn't been too bad. She's a slob but I knew that going in so, it doesn't really bug me much. She just stomps around like she has the worst case of PMS in the history of mankind most of the time because I'm not responding to her advances." Another bite.

"Advances?" I was curious what she was doing.

"Oh, you know, just…stuff. I spend most of my time in the living area working on the computer or working out, or writing reports or whatever. I gave up trying to sleep in the bed the first week. I still go in there and we do our nightly information recap but she just wouldn't leave me alone so I moved out and sleep in the living room floor. The couch is too damn short for me."

I'd felt my backbone stiffen up a bit, "What do you mean she wouldn't leave you alone?"

"Oh, you know, she just won't keep her hands off of me. She's always been that way. It was cool when we were 15. Now it's just juvenile and irritating. She knows it pisses me off, so she just does it more. I'd wake up and she would be practically on top of me. Whether she's doing that part on purpose or not, I just had to get out of there, so if she thinks of something to say to me, she has to come get me, wake me up and then we go back in the bedroom to talk, then I go back out where I can get some sleep." He took another bite.

I was deep breathing a little. "Has she been trying to seduce you, too, or is it just, you know, sort of innocent touching?"

He looked at me like I was a moron. "Honey, you know Terri. What do you think? You see the clothes she wears when there are other people around. It's like she's starting her own nudist colony when we're alone." He paused for a minute just looking at me. "Okay, I can tell you have a question. Just ask it. Get it over with. I really didn't want this to be a big production, I just wanted you to know that I appreciate that you trust me."

"Well," scooted a little closer to him so that my leg was touching his. I thought the question I asked may set the mood for the rest of the evening, so I thought I should tread carefully. I was torn between the whole handcuff thing and asking if he'd been tempted to take her up on her offer. He told me not to ask if I didn't want the answer, so I decided the handcuff question was safer. I blurted it out quickly. "Tell me why Terri had handcuffs in her underwear drawer and why you had the keys in your pocket."

Joe was smiling a sort of a quirky smile at me. "Cupcake, do you think we would be on an undercover stakeout and not have handcuffs with us?"

"Well, I hadn't thought about it. I guess not."

"It's just safer for anyone who comes to snoop while Terri and I aren't there for them to think we're just kinky instead of raising their suspicions otherwise. If we leave the house, we have to erase all of our notes off the white boards, and lock up the computer and all of our paperwork and everything in a secret compartment in the sofa, but we need to be able to get to the handcuffs anytime. It just makes sense to keep them in the bedroom."

"Keys in your pocket?" I prompted again.

"Well, um, I do have to sleep sometime and I just don't relish the thought that she may decide to take….matters….into her own hands….so to speak. It wouldn't be the first time. I told you we've done this before." Joe was trying to tell me that he didn't want to become her sex toy that couldn't get away if she cuffed him in his sleep. I had no response to that whatsoever. I just ate the rest of my sandwich in silence, thankful that he knew her so well going in to this assignment.

Joe spoke first, "Honey, Dunphy said he'd be at the house waiting for you when you got home tomorrow so that you could look through and see if you thought anything was missing. He offered to stay over and sleep on the sofa if you were scared. I told him you'd probably go to your folks' house if you didn't want to say at ours, but you need to remember he's there for you if you need him to be."

"Okay. I'm sure I'll be fine." Not. I still couldn't think of a single person who would want to break into our house, especially for information.

That evening, we just cuddled on the sofa and watched more baseball. I knew tomorrow would come soon enough and I was just happy to be with Joe. Muffin is still pretty small and you sort of have to push on my tummy to be able to feel him. Joe's hands were there constantly. He again, slept with his body curled around mine in a totally protective posture that screamed, 'Mine,' struggling with the concept of saying goodbye the next day.

I actually woke up before Joe did. I quietly snuck out of the bed and tiptoed to the restroom. If he was sleeping on the floor at the apartment, he needed to get as much sleep as he could before going back. I rejoined him in the bed and he immediately pulled me toward him. I love sleepy Joe. He is so sexy, without a bit of caution that he has when he's awake. He's just…snuggly, for lack of a better word. I cuddled into him and then had an irresistible urge to wake him up in his favorite way.

I claimed his mouth with my own and pushed him onto his back. He was breathing deeply through his nose and trying to wake up while responding enthusiastically by sliding his hands down my back to my hips. I made my way to his chest kissing and nibbling. I paused at his neck and selected a conspicuous spot. I sucked and bit at him while he moaned and grinned. "Are you marking your territory, Cupcake?"

"Is that a problem, Officer Hottie? It's not like you have to face the guys at work. It's just a little message from me to Terri. It says 'stay away'."

He was massaging my back and guiding my hips to find his erection. "Whatever you want, Cupcake. I'm all yours."


	16. Chapter 16

Undercover Chapter 16

Joe was due at the Detroit PD at noon. Terri was picking him up there. I really didn't want to see her. He'd been struggling with his emotions all morning and I had seen a lot of his cop face. I had started teasing him about it when I found him pacing, still damp from the shower, in the bedroom wearing nothing but said cop face. He was trying to have a good attitude about it, but he knew at this point, there was no stopping. Even if I'd asked him to, he would feel a real obligation to return to the operation since he was already in the middle of it. "Joe, I told you to do this. I'm fine. Muffin is fine. This is going to be fine. We have 5 months before the baby comes. It will all be a memory by then. You'll be home with me. Everything is going to be fine." Deep breaths, Stephanie, I said to myself, you are going to be fine.

His face softened. "I know. I'm working as hard as I can to get it resolved so that we don't even need to do the December apprehension. If we do have to go through with it, is everything all set with Ranger?" Surprisingly, I hadn't even told Joe about what had happened with Ranger. It seems so trivial compared to everything else Joe is dealing with right now.

I responded, "Yep. He's looking forward to it as much as you're dreading it." We both laughed.

"I'll bet. But the payoff for me is that I get to sleep with you afterwards," He was smiling the nice smile again and looking into my eyes. I could get lost in those pools of chocolate brown, "Come on, Cupcake. As much as I hate it, it's time to go."

He'd packed the car earlier so I had no excuse to dawdle. I drove. He held my hand as we shuffled reluctantly into the PD. We found our contact. He explained that Terri was waiting for Joe down the hall in an interrogation room. I walked to the door with him. He kissed me and opened the door. Terri's voice grated on me like fingernails on a chalkboard. "Jeez, Joey, is that a freakin' hickey?" Joe winked at me and entered the room.

I heard him say, "C'mon Terri, give me a break. Put some clothes on," before he closed the door.

My flight back to Trenton was uneventful. Dunphy picked me up at the airport when I got there, as promised. He'd kept Bob and Rex for me, so he had brought them home and gotten them all settled before picking me up.

Dunphy walked through the house with me. He'd cleaned everything up. If it hadn't been my own house, I would never have known anything had happened, but since it was, I could see that everything was just a fraction 'off'. I resolved to go through everything the next day to get it all back to normal. Of course, I hadn't even lived here that long and it was mostly Joe's stuff, but I'd still feel better if I combed through it.

Dunphy offered again to stay, but I didn't feel like he needed to. After all, it looked like whoever it was just wanted information and now that they know it isn't here, surely they wouldn't come back a second time. "Thanks for all your help," I said as he made way to the front door. "Oh, by the way, I learned from Joe that your preference is for…big boned girls." I was trying to say it delicately. "I have a couple of cousins you might like to meet. I know they'd love to meet you." I was teasing him and he knew it.

He wheeled around and gave me a big smile and said, "Friend, I hate to disappoint, but I really couldn't care less about the size of a girls bones as long as she has some super sized headlights and a nice sturdy back bumper." I had absolutely no response to that. "See you at the gym tomorrow," he winked and grinned on his way out the door.

I called both of our parent's houses to let them know that we'd had a wonderful weekend and that I was home safely. I called Mary Lou and thanked her for helping me with my wardrobe. She knew I couldn't really tell her anything but she did ask, "Was it magic?"

"Yes! Absolute magic," I answered breathily, feeling all a-flutter deep in my abdomen when I thought about Joe and it had absolutely nothing to do with the baby.

She sighed, asked if I thought it would help her feel that way again if she sent Lenny away for a couple of months. She didn't wait for an answer, but just said she needed to get off the phone to go vacuum cheerios out of her bed so she could go to sleep.

I didn't know how I would explain the new ring on my finger if anyone noticed it. I didn't want to take it off, however, so I thought I'd just tell them maybe that the big jerk owed it to me and I had bought it for myself. I was tired of avoiding all the subjects I was avoiding with everyone. I was back to my routine now. There would be 62 more red X's on my calendar before I could see Joe again.

Back at work the next day I explained that I had apprehended Joe and brought him back in over the weekend. I must have looked pitiful enough about the whole situation and no one really asked any questions, other than Lula, who just wanted to know if I got to beat the crap out of him or shoot him during the apprehension. I assured her I kept the apprehension very professional and that I was fine. I didn't tell her I had forgotten the handcuffs.

I grabbed 3 skip files and started thumbing through them. One of them was a little old homeless lady that I pick up on occasion. She's kind of a pain in the butt but not hostile at all. The second one was a man with no record that had been caught trying on lingerie in Victoria's Secret. I was unaware that this was against the law. This seemed like sexual discrimination to me. Maybe I could get him to come with me if I lend him a sympathetic ear. The third one was an arsonist with a bad temper. I decided to see if Ranger would mind picking him up.

By the end of the day, I had gotten my little old lady all bonded out and tucked back into her bus stop. I'd met the lingerie guy and promised him I would take him to "Bun in the Oven" to help me pick out some new lingerie if he would go peacefully with me. He was amenable to this arrangement, and we both found a couple of nice pairs of underwear and some panty hose and I bought a nursing bra.

Sunday rolled around and I went to the Morelli's for dinner, as usual. Tony was practically running from the room to keep a safe distance from me and Angela was practically glued to my side and was being very sisterly, although I felt it was more a way to put a barrier between her husband and me than anything else. Obviously 'Mom' had discussed the situation with them. I felt conspicuous.

This week Barbara had stayed home and Shelly was on Marc's arm. He is even a bigger jerk, if it is possible, when Shelly is with him than when Barbara is with him. I was watching the bizarre interactions of all the people in this crazy family and kept remembering what Joe said, 'in a big family everyone brings their own issues to the table.' I felt like I knew too much about all of them to be a relative stranger myself. For heaven's sakes, I knew about infertility, domestic violence, odd sexual preferences and unfaithfulness impacting several of the people in this room.

What did they know about me? I ran over Joe with a car once, broke off an engagement with him at least once and I was easily distracted enough to forget to pack my birth control pills on my honeymoon. Of course they read the newspapers, so they also knew I was a bounty hunter and had a way of getting myself into trouble.

Grandma Bella couldn't let an evening with the family pass without giving us a vision. "I see danger around the corner for someone in our family. One of the boys will be seriously injured in the near future." I learned that by 'the boys' she meant Marc, Tony and Joe. Considering that I was ready at a moment's notice to inflict serious injury on either Marc or Tony, I decided to think that Joe was the safest of the three right now.

By the end of the week, I had 7 red X marks on my calendar and 3 new notes from Joe. The first one said, "I love you and I miss you." The second one read, "I'm going crazy without you." The last one said, "Terri is a psycho-bitch from hell and I hate her."

As I was putting the 13th X on the calendar, I heard the front doorbell ring. I opened it to find a deliveryman with 2 dozen gorgeous fire and ice roses. They are my favorite. We had used them in our wedding. They are stark white in the center and have a ruby red rim on each petal. The card read, 'Halfway to six months now. I love you. Joe'

He was reminding me that the assignment was at least halfway done and he would be back with me soon.

By the time I had 20 red X's on my calendar, the messages included things like, "I hope Muffin is being good for his Mommy," "Good day on the case," "Jennie is developing calluses," "Found someone interested in my dad's car," and "I can't sleep without you."

Morelli family meals were becoming more fun. Each week, it seemed like the girls were more open and ready to accept me into the family. I was learning the vocabulary of the family. I'd learned that there were two groups, "the kids", meaning Joe and his brothers and sisters, and "all the kids", meaning the rest of us, too, including the 'not real Morelli's' – the 'you would never understand' ones.

Bob's head was being nudged closer to my knees every night by the growing bulge in my tummy. All of the Doctor reports were encouraging. I'd decided not to find out the sex of the baby too early. I really wanted Joe to be able to be there if he could when I found out.

However, one evening at the Morelli family meal, the sisters and sister's in law said they could tell me. They needed a strand of my hair and then they needed my wedding ring. I didn't get it. I was supposed to lie on the floor and they were going to hang it over my belly – the ring tied to the hair and depending on how it swung, they would know if the baby was a boy or a girl. This sounded suspiciously like 'the eye' to me and I was scared it was hereditary. What if my child inherited 'the eye'. Could that happen? I could see three year old Sophia dramatically standing up at the breakfast table in her little PJs to make a pronouncement about a vision. It was enough to make me a little queasy.

I was enjoying the bonding with the girls, but I said that I didn't really want to take my ring off since Joe had put it on my finger. Kathy said, "Aww. That's sweet, but really, let's do this." She was persistent so I decided to go along with it. "Ooh. I don't remember seeing this ring! It is gorgeous. You didn't have this ring when you got married, did you?"

Uh oh. "Well, no, it wasn't ready then, so we didn't have it, but I got it shortly afterwards…" I was hoping they would just let it drop.

Mary was studying it. "I think I've seen a ring similar to that before. Who had one like that? Wasn't the ring Joe gave Terri Grizolli sort of like that?" I _hate_ learning things this way.

"What?" I was going to lose it. "When the hell did Joe give Terri a ring? I didn't think they were ever that serious!" I was speaking a lot louder than I should have been. I wasn't actually shrieking, but all of 'the girls' were looking at me like they were afraid I may have a gun on me.

Angela dove right in. "No. No. No. That ring looks absolutely nothing like Terri's ring did. Remember hers was platinum and it was just a simple little round solitaire. They were only kids – he couldn't have ever given her anything this nice."

Shelly piped up, too. "Stephanie, don't get upset. It really wasn't anything. I don't think she even wore it more than a week. She tried to trick Joe into marrying her by telling him she was pregnant. You know Joe. Mr. Integrity, he didn't even question her, the big dope. She eventually told him she lost the baby but I don't think she was ever pregnant in the first place."

Mary said, "I can't remember why they broke it off. It wasn't because of the baby….or the non-baby…or whatever…"

Shelly remembered. "Oh, it was because some girl ran over Joe with a car and broke his leg. Terri got all huffy about it like he had cheated on her or something by letting someone **else** nearly kill him." She was laughing really hard. Then everyone else started laughing really hard. Shelly hadn't been here that night that I confessed to running Joe over, so she still didn't know that girl was ME! It was a funny moment and we really bonded a lot that night. It also gave me a huge sense of well-being that I had thwarted Terri's marriage attempt to Joe. HA! Score: Stephanie – Lots Terri - Zilch

My phone rang twice that evening. The first time was around midnight. I wasn't asleep yet, but just like anyone else, the telephone ringing really late at night sets my heart to pounding and fear zinging around through my spinal column. The number said, "unknown" on the caller ID. Last time it had been Joe, so I answered, hoping for the best. "Hello?"

A low growlish voice responded, "Where is he?" My spine was tingling now and every hair on my body was standing up at full attention.

I managed to say, "Excuse me?"

"I need to know where Morelli is and I need to know immediately (pronouncing it im-mej-ut-ly)," the mysterious caller demanded.

"Um, why? What do you need with him? Maybe you can leave a message with me and I can get him to call you." I was exhausting all the ideas I could come up with while trying to scramble down the stairs to find my cell phone to try to call Dunphy.

The caller laughed with a low, throaty grunt, "I'm going to find him and when I do, I'm going to kill him. I've been trying to be patient and hunt for him on my own, but he may be getting close to what he's looking for and I'm running out of time. Maybe I just need to take matters into my own hands and nab you. I'll bet he'd come out of hiding then."

My cell phone was no where. My purse was on the dining room table but the cell wasn't inside. I had a bad habit of tossing it into the passenger seat of my car when I hung it up instead of putting it back in my purse. It must still be in my car outside.

The caller must have been getting nervous about being on the phone too long, because he hung up then. I called Dunphy and he said he'd see if there was any way to trace the call, but he sounded doubtful. He asked again if I wanted him to come over, but I declined. I didn't tell him about the threat to kidnap me. I didn't think it was a real threat for one, and secondly I didn't want him to tell Joe and worry him. I'm a big girl – getting bigger by the day, and I can take care of myself.

At 2:15 a.m. the phone rang again. I was disoriented with sleep and felt like I had been on a 3 day drunk. My mind was foggy and I was struggling to read the caller ID. When I saw it, I was paralyzed. It said "Detroit Mem Hosp". Something's happened to Joe. Why else would anyone at the Detroit Memorial Hospital be calling me? I heard the answering machine in the office pick up the call. Joe's voice came on the line, "Cupcake? You must be staying with your folks tonight…."

"Joe!" I had grabbed the telephone on the bedside table and was so happy to hear his voice.

"Oh, hi Honey. I'm sorry to call so late. I can't talk long, but I wanted to tell you that I'm okay in case you hear from anyone that I got shot tonight."

"Omigod! You got shot? What happened?" I was so terrified that my caller had found him. I kept reminding myself that I was talking to Joe. He's obviously okay or I wouldn't be talking to him.

"I'm fine really. It's not a big deal," I could tell he was using his 'don't worry' voice. That's not usually a good thing because it meant I had a reason to worry. "I just was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Where were you?"

"Uh, I don't really want to go into it. I just wanted you to know I'm okay. I figured the word may get around and you may hear about it and I just wanted you to know I was really okay. I promise. Listen, I can't talk long, they are about to dig this slug out….Shit, that hurts." He had turned away from the phone and I assumed he was talking to a nurse or someone.

I went ballistic. "Joe Morelli, you tell me right now what happened. I mean it. All of it….you mean the bullet is still inside your body? Omigod. This wasn't a flesh wound." I was freaking out.

"Cupcake listen…" I heard him put his hand over the receiver and say, 'Terri, get the hell out of here. You shot me, okay? Isn't that enough for one day? Leave me the hell alone.' He was back with me again, "Honey, really I'm fine. I really don't want to get into it now."

"Terri Gilman shot you?" My voice was dripping with anger and distain. "What the hell, Joe?"

Joe gave a mighty sigh. I could picture him gritting his teeth and wishing he hadn't called me. "Honey, remember at my mom's house when I told you that with Terri we fought more often about things I didn't do than about things that I did do?"

"Yeah." I said, straining to hear his words, he seemed to be slurring them a little now.

"Well, as you know, there is something Terri has wanted me to do since we've been here, but I won't." He was speaking slowly and deliberately. He'd said they were about to take the bullet out, so I guess they had given him something to make him sleepy.

"Terri, shot you because you won't have sex with her? I'm coming out there and bringing you home."

"I'm okay, though," he repeated. "Really." I didn't know if he was trying to convince me or himself. I've taken a few bullets in my time, but Joe had never been shot.

"Where did she shoot you?" I was trying to calm myself.

"In the shower…" he yawned.

"NO! Where on your body did she shoot you?" I was shouting to keep his attention.

"Oh. She was aiming for my dick but I guess I sort of freaked out when I saw the gun. She said it looked like I was doing a Kung Fu move," poor Joe was drunk on painkillers and was sort of giggling now, "so she caught me in the ass."

Before I could ask anything else, the nurse took the phone and said that Joe was really incapacitated and couldn't talk anymore at this point. I do have my priorities, so I asked her if she thought he would have a scar. I mean he does have the best ass I've ever seen in my life. I would hate to think it would be defaced, so to speak. She agreed that it was quite a fine looking ass. I think I heard her wiping drool from her mouth while we were talking. She said it would be sort of hard to describe how the bullet went in, but that there probably wouldn't be a scar that you could see unless you were really looking for it. Hmmm. What the hell does that mean?

I hung up the phone and started to try to relax. It was no use. I wasn't going back to sleep tonight. I was wired. I was thinking about Gilman trying to eliminate my future with Joe. What if she'd really shot his dick off? I would still love him, I think. What a terrible thing to think! Of course I would still love him…….I think. He'd said she was an excellent shot. If he hadn't jumped, she may have missed him altogether. I felt guilty when I realized I was blaming Joe for doing a Kung Fu move and taking the bullet in the ass instead of letting it go harmlessly into the shower wall. I felt lucky that he would still be able to...perform, anyway. Getting shot in the ass wasn't so bad. I've been shot in the ass.


	17. Chapter 17

Undercover Chapter 17

I dutifully reported to the gym at the appointed time. Dunphy was waiting, as always. "Hi, … um, Dunphy, I don't even know your first name. What is it?"

I felt this was a logical question considering that we were becoming friendlier – he was fetching and toting for me on a daily basis now that I was 5 months along in my pregnancy. He blushed, and stammered, "Well, that's by design. I don't like people knowing my first name. I don't like it and I don't want to have to hear it. I usually get really ticked when I do, so I just don't tell anyone." He didn't know this presented a challenge for someone as curious as I am. He changed the subject, "So, I hear you spoke to your husband last night. Is he okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. He was sort of sleepy when I talked to him. However, I have a few things to say to Gilman next time I see her. Hey, I need to ask you a question. Do you know anything about electricity?"

"What, like how it works or something?" He looked puzzled.

"No, Joe put in one of those motion detector lights in the back yard before he left but it isn't working. I changed the bulb but even with Bob rushing around the back yard every evening, it still won't come on." I wanted to make sure it was okay because of the threat posed by the mystery caller.

"I'll come by and look at it after I'm done here. Need anything else?" He handed me my daily 'fix' - another note from Joe.

"Not that I can think of…Oh, yeah, I got a TV and I need you to carry it upstairs for me, if you don't mind. It's in my car now."

"Sure. How big is it? Do I need help?"

"Nah. It's not that big, just too big for me." I smiled and headed out the door to read my note.

The note read, 'Hug Bob for me. I miss him.'

I decided to clean the baby's room and to try to decide what all we might need to bring Muffin home from the hospital. We'd had a Grandma Bella 'Vision' induced pregnancy scare several years earlier and Joe's Godmother had brought his Christening Gown over at that time. I found it stuffed in the top of the closet in our bedroom and took it out of the box. It was about 4 feet long, and it had layer upon layer of delicate ivory lace. Joe had been thoroughly disgusted that it was a dress. It would be so beautiful on our baby. Joe and I had not been very good about attending church in the recent years. We should probably think about it a little bit since we are starting on the next generation.

The doorbell rang just as I had plopped my fat behind on the floor in the baby's room to start cleaning out dresser drawers. I had to work hard to get up off the floor, making me want to add 'chair for the baby's room' to my list of essentials I was making. The bell rang again as I was on my way downstairs to answer it. "I'm coming – keep your pants on!" It was a delivery guy with a van. He was wearing a green shirt that had a patch sewn on the front that said 'Gus'.

"Mrs. Morelli?" He asked.

"Uh…Yes…" that still seems like it can't be my name, so I have to think about it every time someone says it.

"I have a furniture delivery for you. Where does it need to go?" He was very polite, but I hadn't bought any furniture. Just then, Dunphy pulled up out front, too.

"Um, maybe you have the wrong house. I didn't buy any furniture," I said to Gus.

"Oh, Sorry. I'm supposed to give you this card. I guess it's a gift." I opened the card. It said, 'Congratulations on your new addition, Love, Vito and Cissi Grizolli.' I was thinking to myself, why would the Grizolli's send us furniture? Vito is a notorious mobster that Joe works with and against periodically. Also, they were Terri Gilman's parents. What a weird set of circumstances.

Dunphy approached the front porch and saw the look of horror on my face, I guess. "Omigod, Dunphy, I think this is a mob thing. Why else would the Grizolli's be sending us furniture?" His eyebrows furrowed.

He looked at Gus and asked, "What is it?"

"A whole room full of baby furniture," he answered. "Nice gift. Probably several thousand dollars worth. I sure wish me and my wife had friends like that."

"I don't want it." I tried to close the door, but Dunphy was on the other side.

"Wait, friend. Let's think about this. Isn't there another connection, like besides just Morelli? Wasn't Vito a good friend with his dad or something? Could that be what this is all about?" He paused and looked at me.

"Maybe, I guess." I looked back to the delivery guy. "Give me a minute." I ran inside and called 'Mom' Morelli. She confirmed, that yes, Vito Grizolli and Marc Morelli, (Sr.) had been best friends and yes, the Grizolli's had always sent a very generous gift when each of 'the kids' had their first child. She was happy to know that we got the same treatment, even since things hadn't worked out between Joe and Terri. Any other time, I would have been a little freaked out by the thought that she and the Grizolli's may have wished that things would have worked out between Joe and Terri but now, I was already at the top of my freak-o-meter just from having mob-furniture in my baby's room.

"Okay, put it upstairs, in the first room on the right. It's almost empty now." I pointed Gus to the baby's room and watched as Dunphy checked the back yard light and Gus carried up multiple pieces of furniture. He asked me to come up and tell him how I wanted them arranged in the room.

The furniture was a beautiful honey oak color. It looked very much like it had been handcrafted. There was a beautiful crib with carved spiral spindles on the sides and a lovely arch pattern on each end, a chest of drawers, with a top that made a changing table, but was removable when the baby outgrew it, a gorgeous dresser with a mirror and a very, very nice matching glider rocking chair with a footstool. The set was completed with a matching twin sized bed that could be used when the baby outgrew the crib, so this furniture could be used for years to come. I decided I loved it before it was even set up. Even if it was from the mob, it was beautiful and I was tearful realizing that Sophia or Joe Jr. would be able to use it for a long time.

I talked Dunphy into helping Gus carry the old dresser downstairs, and they put it, along with the new twin bed in the cellar for storage. I signed for the furniture. Dunphy told me that the reason the light hadn't been working was because I had turned the switch off next to the door. Apparently, the switch has to stay on for the light to work – even if it was motion-triggered. Who'd a thunk it? He put a piece of tape over the switch to keep me from mindlessly turning it off again by accident. While he was carrying the TV upstairs, I called for Pino's pizza I ordered it with double veggies since I'm pregnant and trying to eat better.

Dunphy hung around and ate with me and watched a game on TV with me. He was a nice guy, but I really needed to have Connie run down his first name. I didn't know how things ended up with them, however. "So,…_Mister_ Dunphy, whatever happened with you and Connie?" I asked him, with my eyebrows raised.

"Oh, she's a nice girl. We had a few laughs and a nice time when we got together." Not what I expected to hear, considering that Connie could probably be very naughty when she wanted to be, "She just needs to live up to her….potential…." He winked at me and went back to watching the game. He was waiting to see if she could put on another 100 pounds I guess.

"Is your first name worse than 'Gus'?" I asked. He just looked at me and said nothing.

Dunphy left after the game was over. I was still a little restless. I'd asked him to put in a call to have Joe call me when he could. I wanted to tell him about the furniture and make sure it was okay to keep it and also to check on his wound and see how he was doing now. I knew I shouldn't bother him after just talking to him last night but I just felt an overwhelming desire to talk to him.

I let Bob out for the last time of the evening. I'd been diligent about putting him on his backyard leash since he'd gotten home so that he wouldn't get lost again. The motion detector light faithfully came on when he went out and stayed on for a few minutes after he was back inside.

I had been slowly making my way through the paperwork that had been riffled through during the break-in. I didn't find anything curious or unusual. Like anyone, Joe had a lot of extra papers sort of lying around that were not of relevance anymore. Expired pizza coupons, old insurance offers, and mysteriously acquired business cards all made their way to the trash as I cleaned out. I finished the pile of stuff in the kitchen tonight.

I was starting to yawn when the phone rang. 'Unknown," I sighed and picked it up.

"Hey, Cupcake, you okay?" Joe sounded tired and discouraged.

"Hi, Sweetheart!" I gushed. "I love you and I miss you so much! How are you feeling? I'm so sorry you got hurt!"

He blew out a weary sigh. "I'm tired and sore. You okay? Dunphy said I needed to call…."

"I'm fine. I just wanted hear your voice." I was trying to control my voice. I can't say exactly why, but I had tears running down my cheeks. "I know you can't talk long and I probably shoud-n't h-a-a-ve ca-lle-d." I was losing it and Joe could hear it."

"Really, Honey, are you okay? I hate it when you cry. What's wrong?" He was seriously getting worried.

"I'm okay, really. We got a delivery today of some absolutely gorgeous furniture from the Grizolli's for the baby. It is beau-(sniffle) ti-ful. I checked with your Mom before I accepted it. Is it ok-ay (sniffle) to keep or is it a conflict of interest or something?"

"Yeah, keep it. Vito and my dad were close. I'm sure he feels an obligation to our family. I think he had a lot to do with my dad's early demise, but I've never even cared enough to check into it. We were better off without him." Joe seldom hid his distain for his father's behavior. "Honey, you okay? Dunphy said you looked tired tonight."

"Yeah. I just miss you. A lot. Are you feeling okay? I mean, after your 'accident' last night?" I was hoping it may mean that his assignment was going to be cut short because their cover was blown.

"I'm okay. Tired and sore. Sitting on a damn donut, you know the drill." I could hear the smile in his voice. He was answering my question even before I asked, "All they heard was the shower running and Terri calling me names, then the shot and then me calling her names. Nothing revealing. We tape all the exchanges they hear so we can replay them if we feel we may have compromised our cover." He knew what I was thinking. I sighed. He really does know me.

"What's Dunphy's first name? He won't tell me!"

Joe laughed a big laugh. "Honey, I'm not getting into the middle of that. I knew him for probably 10 years before I knew it and calling him that is the only way I finally provoked him to hit me when we were starting this assignment."

"Joe, I miss you and I love you." I coo'd into the telephone.

"I miss you and I love you, too, Cupcake," He responded. "29 days. I'm counting. See you on December 18th."

He disconnected. I was reminded that I adored this man. And he adored me, too. How would I survive another 29 days before seeing him? I would cling to this lumpy tummy that would roil and flip and twist and toss and remind me of my relationship with Joe. This was definitely Joe's child. I would try to relax and he would wake me up. He would tease me and tell me it was time to play, and then he would fall asleep. He would wake me early in the morning and keep me up when I wanted to sleep and then he would snuggle in with me for a solid nap in the afternoon. I missed his Daddy and I couldn't wait to see him. I couldn't wait to meet Muffin. We'd become good friends now and I knew it was going to be really cool being a mom. Joe would make such a great Dad. Just thinking about it made me miss him more. He would be the first Daddy at ballet practice every week and the last Daddy to load up his car and head home after the football game.

I was sitting in the living room just thinking about Joe and the upcoming holidays. Thanksgiving is this coming Thursday. I was expected at both my family's meal and Joe's family's meal. Good thing they are only two blocks apart. My mother decided she would serve at noon and Joe's mom was going for 6pm. That would be fine, but I was usually comatose after my family's thanksgiving meal. It will be a freaking miracle if I can make it through two family meals that day. It was my first Thanksgiving as a Morelli. I missed Joe less on the days I spent with his family. I could secretly look at Tony and even Marc from the back and think Joe was here.

Bob came over and burped in my face. That broke my dream-like state.

It was late, but the baby was playing like crazy. I couldn't have gone to sleep if I tried. I went upstairs to the home office and started going through stuff in the bottom drawer of the desk. I felt like I was snooping through Joe's stuff. I didn't exactly come with a lot of paperwork. He kept things pretty simple, too. He had warranty information in a file – everything he ever bought with a warranty was documented – right down to the toaster. Wow. Mr. Organization isn't he? There was also a file folder for personal data – life insurance policies, Joe's birth certificate, his passport, his paperwork from the Navy, awww…a copy of our marriage license….he's so thoughtful.

Just then, I noticed something change out of the corner of my eye. The window in the office overlooks the back yard. The motion detector light had come on in the yard. I jumped up and looked out just in time to see a man running out of the yard. He was balding, had sort of grayish hair and he seemed short, but from this angle, I couldn't really tell much else about him.

I started shaking. Do I call Dunphy? 911? Should I just get my gun? I decided to get my gun from the kitchen. Since I was there anyway, I also got an ice cream bar. There's calcium in ice cream, and I'd bought the expensive ones that were coated in real milk chocolate, so that has milk in it, too.

I went back upstairs and set to work on the drawer again. The next file folder was empty, as were the 10 after that. In the back of the drawer was a shoebox with no lid. It appeared to be Joe's repository of old business cards. Upon looking through it, I found several sets of old cards for Joe, like when the department would change logos, he got a new phone number, he got a cell phone, he got a promotion, etc. It was like a history of Joe Morelli at the Trenton PD.

Also in the box, he had tossed a bundle of miscellaneous business cards that was about 3 inches thick. 'Smiley's Dog Grooming' caught my eye. I knew he'd dated a girl named Smiley at one point. After looking through the cards in the stack, I noticed that they were all from women. Every freaking one of them was from a woman. Maybe this was Joe's little black book. As testament to Joe, it was apparent he hadn't accessed them for a while because the rubber band that was holding them together had crumbled and fallen apart when I picked up the bundle of cards. Another tell-tale sign of the age of the bundle of cards was the one from 'G-fource Auto Repair, Business Manager, Terri Grizolli'. I couldn't remember how long her name had been Gilman, but it had been a while now.

I put a new rubber band around Joe's little stack of mementos, and put the stack back in the drawer. Muffin seemed ready for bed, finally, so we toddled across the hall to our room and crawled into the bed. Just as Bob, Muffin and I had gotten comfortable, I remembered I'd left the gun in the office, so I hauled myself back up and went to get it. I wasn't taking any chances.

As I laid there in bed, something was bugging me about the business card I'd found for Terri. I had to get up again and go look at it. The business had been on Clark – right near the Duncan Donuts that Joe had been asking about. It turned out that Sara Genieve's family had owned an auto importer, and Grizolli worked practically right next door at an auto repair shop. That is interesting. Didn't Joe say there had been a connection between the two crime families once? I was unable to remember exactly what he had said. I usually remember things like that. My sister told me that pregnancy kills brain cells. Why couldn't it kill the brain cells that held the image of Dickie and Joyce boinking on my dining room table? Why kill the brain cells I still need?


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

I knew it was a stupid thing to say even before I finished the phrase. Ranger was looking at me with his mouth open and his eyes narrowed. "Babe," he started, "when have you ever known me to go anywhere without cuffs?" This was true. He would wear a gun and cuffs in the shower if he could.

Yes, I had foolishly just reminded Batman not to forget to take his handcuffs when he went to apprehend Joe. I was embarrassed. Ranger caught on, "Oh, shit, _you_ forgot to take cuffs when you went to apprehend him in October, didn't you?" Now Ranger was bent over at the waist, clutching his stomach and laughing like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard.

"Stop laughing," I whined, stomping my foot like a 4 year old. Pregnancy has given me a new weapon in my arsenal. I can turn on the tears at the blink of an eye. Ranger doesn't handle tears well. I have learned that very few people do. As a result, I'm still doing a few apprehensions even at this relatively late stage in my pregnancy. If anyone I'm trying to apprehend tries anything funny, I just sort of arch my back so that I look even more pregnant and pitiful and let a few tears rip and the next thing I know, I am leading the offender into the PD to collect a body receipt. Nobody likes to see a pitiful pregnant woman crying her eyes out, not even a felon. This new form of manipulation is powerful and I only hope I can keep it up after Muffin is born.

Ranger threw his arm around my shoulder in a brotherly way and walked me out to my car. He was still chuckling and trying to keep it together while savoring the image of me doing a take down without cuffs, even if it was a fake takedown. I hate to admit, but it was far from the first time I had gone into an apprehension unprepared.

We were scheduled to leave in the morning. Ranger was to go to Detroit to get Joe. I was supposed to go to Seattle, where Joe would meet me for four glorious days. Joe, while in Seattle, would go question the prisoner who supposedly left the Grizolli crime family for greener pastures with the Takata crime family. I was almost 7 months along now and Dr. Hands had told me that this would be my last trip. He wasn't too excited about my going, but there was no way I was going to miss seeing Joe. Muffin was fine. I was fine. The only thing missing to make everything perfect was Joe and he would be with me in a few short hours.

I was anxious to get away. I'd had a few more scary telephone calls from my mystery man who was trying to threaten and intimidate me into telling him where Joe was. I finally said, "Look, you jerk, (Click – turn on the tears and shaky voice) my husband abandoned me less than a month after our wedding. (sniffle, sob) I'm pregnant and alone. (sob) I'm scared and lonely. (sniffle) I don't need (sniffle) you adding stress on me. (sniffle, sob) Leave me alone!" I slammed down the receiver and took another bite of pizza. Oddly enough, I think it worked. It's been 10 days with no calls and no little bald guy running through my backyard – he'd only done that twice – the first night I saw him and once the next week. I'd gotten a better look at him the second time because I was in the kitchen when he did it, so I was on the same level with him. He was short and sort of pudgy with a round face distinguished by flabby jowls, like Bob has but less furry.

Speaking of furry, finally yesterday I took care of the biggest, furriest, dilemma that I have faced since Joe left town. About a month ago, it became apparent that I could no longer shave my legs. I just couldn't reach around Muffin and do it. When I tried, I tended to cut myself and it just wasn't worth it. I'd stopped shaving and just wore jeans, sweats and slacks all the time. No maternity dresses for Ms. Buffalo Legs here. Well, now I was going to see Joe. Hmmm. He had shaved my legs for me once before when I had sprained my wrist but the hair on them wasn't an inch long at that time! I had to do something before seeing him. I could have asked my sister or Mary Lou. I guess I could have asked one of Joe's sisters since we were getting so much closer. I would have to come up with a plausible excuse for them if I asked, however, since they couldn't know I was going to see Joe – although I thought they probably knew anyway. I considered the people who knew where he was. Dunphy was definitely out – he could take out my garbage for me and things like that, but there wasn't a chance I would ever ask him to help me with personal hygiene. I would never ask my mother to do something like that – she'd never let me forget it. I literally rolled on the floor laughing when I thought about asking 'Mom' Morelli. I could hear the conversation now, "I need your help. I intend to have a great deal of sweaty sex this weekend with your son and it is important to me that the hair on my legs and the hair on Joe's legs doesn't become entangled or create enough friction to cause a fire." Um, no, I don't think I'll be asking Joe's mother for help with this issue.

I remembered that before going to Jamaica I had gone to get a bikini wax. I called the salon, embarrassed, and asked if they could wax me from ankle to hip. They didn't seem to think this was an odd request and gave me an appointment. It wasn't the worst experience of my life. It wasn't one I would hope to do again, either.

I reviewed the notes I'd received from Joe in the last couple of weeks. 'Ask my mom to send some chocolate chip cookies with you when you come.' 'I miss waking up with you.' 'Grandma Bella's birthday is Tuesday. Take her white roses from me.' 'There's a rat that lives on our front stoop. His eyes remind me of Rex every time I see him.' 'As of today, I got rid of the donut. Dr. says I'm healing fine.' 'Hope to see more sono pictures of Muffin soon.' 'I sent the Grizolli's a thank you note for the furniture.' 'See you next week. I can't wait.' Again, they were each signed, 'I love you, Joe'.

I had the cookies packed in my carryon bag. Joe's mom was thrilled to make them for him and threw in a batch of Peanut Butter cookies, too. Joe only asked for the Chocolate Chip ones, so I ate the Peanut Butter ones myself. Peanut Butter, after all, is an excellent source of protein. I seriously considered making a batch of 'chocolate chip' cookies with Exlax and putting Terri's name on them, but that just seemed too juvenile. Although it would be damned funny.

The flight was uneventful. I caught a taxi to the Bed and Breakfast Joe had booked. It was out in the boondocks. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about staying at a B&B. I pictured it to be something like staying in my parent's house. I intended to keep Joe in the bed for a good part of our stay and I didn't want to have to worry about someone hearing us or coming to see why we didn't make it to breakfast downstairs.

I needn't have worried. Joe had apparently done his research. Becky, the B&B proprietor, led me down a lovely wooded path beyond the main house. The secluded cottage looked like something out of a fairy tale. When she opened the door, the aroma of cinnamon wafted out to greet me and beckon me inside. Becky showed me the proprietary telephone that would ring the main house if we needed anything. She also showed me the hot and cold boxes built into the wall where she would place breakfast every morning around 8a.m. She said the cold box was just a special refrigerator with two doors – one on the inside of the cottage and one that locked on the outside of the cottage. The hot box was like a warming oven of the same configuration and the food would stay good for around 2 hours in it.

She showed me a list of local eateries and places that would deliver to the cottage if we wished and told me that if we wanted anything special from the grocery store, to just let her know and she'd get it to us within an hour. "That's the best part about having teenagers. Free labor and errand running." She laughed.

The cinnamon scent had come from fresh cinnamon cookies that were on the little dining table and also from a small iron kettle of cinnamon sticks and other spices that was hanging just in front of the huge stone fireplace in the center of the cottage. She poked at the fire and got it really roaring. This was welcome and took the chill right out of me. The fireplace was two sided, so you could enjoy the fire from both the living area and the bedroom. This place seemed so charming and magical. It would be perfect.

Becky was friendly and open. She asked my due date and we chatted about children. Yes, this is our first. Yes, we are thrilled and a little apprehensive. No, we don't know if it is a boy or a girl, yet. Yes, we have names chosen. After a bit more small-talk, she said she needed to get going.

Joe arrived less than an hour later. I heard his boots crunching down the wooded path outside and had just stood up to greet him when he opened the door. His eyes just lit up the huge smile on his face when he saw me. He dropped his bags, kicked the door closed and quickly crossed the floor to envelop me in his arms. He just held me close and sort of breathed me in for a few moments. I closed my eyes and savored the sensation of being in his arms. He felt wonderful to me. When he loosened the embrace, he did it just enough to be able to seal his mouth over mine for a fantastic welcoming kiss. He then again just buried his face in my hair and I could feel his warm breath on my neck and shoulder.

When he finally spoke, it was only to whisper, "I love you." His voice was raspy and low. I returned the sentiment in a sigh and relaxed into his arms again. I don't know how long the embrace lasted. It seemed like forever and only a heartbeat at the same time. When we pulled away, Joe noticed, I guess for the first time, my tummy, which was considerably bigger than it had been. He put his hands on either side and was greeted by a pretty sound kick back from Muffin. "I hope Muffin knows who I am." He said, a little ruefully.

"He will. He gets to hear your voice everyday." I said. Joe furrowed his brow and I could tell he didn't understand. "You left me a message on the telephone the day you left town. I've almost worn out the answering machine playing it back over and over again. They say it's good for the baby to hear the Daddy's voice, so that's the only way I know to do it. Besides, I like hearing your voice, too." I was grinning from ear to ear.

Joe just leaned back in for another hug and a kiss.

"This is a great little cottage. I love it. How did you find it?" I asked.

Joe just sort of blinked at me and bit his lip. "Well, I came here a long time ago and knew it would be great for us." He turned away to get his bags from the door. I could tell that there was more to that statement, but I didn't want to dig. He could have just as easily said 'Terri and I came here a long time ago…' but he didn't. That's fine. I didn't want to think about her.

"Hey, how was the takedown? Did Ranger rub it in?" I was joking with Joe.

He started laughing, "Oh, it was okay. He got there on time and we did a little verbal sparring. We both whacked a punching bag I put up in the dining room a few times for good sound effects. He had just started to cuff me when Gilman strolled in. She hasn't been nearly as aggressive as she was before the shootout. I mean she really has backed off, which is a huge blessing. Most of the time she wears sweats and a ponytail so it really surprised me when she strolled out of the bedroom wearing some black leather hip boots, and one of those little black leather lace up tops and not a lot more. She had that blonde hair teased out about a foot around her head. She looked like a freakin' dominatrix or something. I didn't get it. I mean, really, she's been really good to get along with – and has pretty well left me alone, but then I realized that I hadn't told her that it wasn't you who was coming to get me. I swear, Cupcake, you bring out the absolute worst in her." I was thinking that she brings out the worst in me, too, when he continued. "Apparently Ranger saw something he liked. As soon as he saw her getup he sort of lost all interest in me and I practically had to do my own takedown." He was still grinning and chuckling. "They were writing really dirty suggestive comments on the board to each other before we even got out of the house. He used his cell phone on the way to the airport to cancel his return flight and book a hotel room. He dropped me off at the airport and turned right around and went back to get her. It was hilarious. As pent up as she's been he'll be really lucky if he gets out of there alive! I can seriously see an emergency room visit in his near future."

I had to remind myself I was not jealous. I was with Joe and that's who I wanted to be with. I liked flirting with Ranger but he's not my exclusive property. Ugh. I felt so mad at him. I was just so disappointed in him. Of all the people to get turned on by, Gilman? Yuck. Now I really wished I'd sent her those cookies. I had an evil grin on my face from thinking about that.

I turned my attention back to Joe. "Ranger isn't the only one dealing with a pent up woman, Joe. So," I said, jerking Joe's shirttail out of his jeans, "let's see this scar…" I gave him my best maneater grin and slowly backed toward the bedroom.

Joe's eyes darkened characteristically. "I'm anxious to see a few new landmarks on you as well, Cupcake." He responded enthusiastically and we left a trail of clothes from the front door to the bed. Joe had dropped to his knees and was nuzzling and kissing my belly while whispering indiscernible phrases.

He stood up and looked me full in the face, maybe for the first time since he'd been here. I realized how old he looked. His eyes were drawn and the smile lines around them seemed deep. I swear this job has aged him. He looked really tired, too. I felt guilty that it had been so easy for me to adapt to him being gone and so hard for Joe to know how much he was missing. I crawled on the bed and held my hand out to him. He snuggled in next to me and pressed his forehead to mine. "I've missed you," was all he said.

"I've missed you, too." I smiled.

From my vantage point, his ass hadn't been damaged in the least. It looked fine. Pretty damn good, in fact. He seemed to be thinking the same thing about me. He said, "I love how you look. It's amazing to me. You were always beautiful, but now, it's just so over the top. I can't believe you're here with me." He was holding my hand and looking at my body. He began trailing his fingertips lightly over my tummy and my breasts while kissing me. I was getting goosebumps from head to toe and was very happy for the wax job I had gotten.

I wanted it to be just Joe and I, but right now, that was pretty impossible. Muffin was tossing and turning and my belly was shifting shapes. You could see little elbows and knees sticking out periodically. I showed him what was going on by rolling on my back and pressing one of the little sharp appendages with my fingers, so that Muffin would shift again. Joe grinned and joined in our little game. There was a big, smooth spot at one point that would poke way out. "Is that Muffin's head?" He asked, touching it, with shining eyes.

I had to close my eyes and visualize how I thought the baby was laying. "No, I think that's Muffin's butt." I laughed. So did Joe. A few more minutes of playing and then Joe turned his attention back to me. He laced his fingers in my hair and started to kiss me passionately.

He seemed perfectly content to kiss me and look at me and stroke my body. Well, he has had Jenny to keep him company. I've been all alone. I needed more. Now. I reached down and took matters into my own hands, hoping he would get the hint. He did.

"Um, Cupcake, I never thought I'd relinquish the top this willingly, but I don't think it would be really comfortable for you any… other… way." He was just sort of assessing the situation. Again, usually the daddy gets to see the mommy's tummy develop day by day and adapting lovemaking styles is probably a little more natural and gradual that way, but this last 60 days of development has definitely changed things – a lot.

I grabbed his face and leaned in for a kiss, which he willingly returned. He took a deep breath and rolled onto his back, never taking his eyes off of me. It took a little bit of wrangling, on my part but I finally got settled onto him. Neither of us was quite sure how to do this. It was like making love with a basketball in between us. We both sort of snickered and I felt like I was kind of blushing. Kissing and whispering have always been a big part of our lovemaking and I couldn't figure out how to get anywhere near his face and his, um, nether region, simultaneously. He pulled his knees up behind my back and braced his feet on the bed so I could lean against his thighs. Oh, God, his thighs. And his chest, and his arms. Yum.

Not that I was turning this down, but I could tell we were going to have to be more creative the next time around. I can't say that it was a spectacular performance on either of our parts. It being our first time together in two months and the physical limitations from the pregnancy combined to reduce the act to a clumsy sort of athletic event rather than a true lovemaking experience. Oh, well, nobody gets to have fantastic sex EVERY time, do they? However, both of us got what we wanted from it, I think. I did. I'm pretty sure he did. Yeah, he did. I could tell.

He cuddled up to me from behind, and we both fell asleep. Again, I was secure in his arms. It was wonderful. I could feel his warm breath on my skin. His hands felt so good on my body. He was, afterall, magic.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

When I woke up, I could feel Joe's eyes on me. He had covered me up with an afghan and was lying in front of me, so we were face to face. He just had the sweetest most loving expression. He was propped on one elbow, with his head on his hand and he was twirling my hair around his index finger. I stretched and scooted into his waiting arms. He drew me in close. He was so warm and he smelled heavenly.

"You hungry? Your stomach was growling so loud it woke me up." He smirked.

"As a matter of fact, I _am_ hungry." I leaned in and kissed him. I drew his lower lip into my mouth for a sexy slurp and then kissed him again. I pulled my lips away from his about a half inch. "There's a list of places to eat and places that deliver over there." I indicated the direction with my head and swooped back in for another kiss.

"What are you hungry for?" He said, as he was pushing me onto my back and moving his lips down to address my neck. I arched my back and tilted my head to give him better access.

"Oh, nothing in particular." He was making his way to the other side of my neck and I again turned my head to give him maximum exposure. "You know, just hungry." I realized about then that I was digging my nails into his back. I was still so aroused there was no way he was getting me out of this bed to go eat anything.

"I'm hungry, too," he mumbled to one of my breasts. "I'm really, really hungry." He rolled me onto my side so that my back was to him. He continued to kiss and caress my breasts, my waist, my hip, my back and my neck. I discovered his intentions when he entered me from behind. I was so aroused that he slid in very easily.

"Oh, Joe!" I gasped. It took me by surprise. A pleasant surprise, I must admit. He snaked a hand around my waist and dipped it between my legs. He massaged me until he found _that spot_. "Omigod," I purred, turning my head toward him. He propped up on his elbow and began to kiss my lips and face and whisper in my ear about how he loved me and how sexy he thought I was. Now, this is more like it!

He was definitely getting into the swing of things again. Oh, wow. What a swing. I had two screaming orgasms before I felt him clench and shudder with his own. He relaxed his head into my neck and gasped for air a few times. He swallowed big and said with a husky voice, "How about burgers? Do burgers sound good?" I giggled and disentangled from him. I rolled to face him and pressed my hands into both sides of his face.

"Burgers sound great." I had to be beaming. I was so happy. My three favorite things – explosive orgasms, Joe, and food. Who could ask for more?

It was snowing lightly outside and Joe had little tiny snowflakes in his hair when he came back into the cottage with the food. I'd taken a quick shower and put on some little flannel PJs that were pretty cute but warm, too. Joe tossed another couple of logs on the fire while I got the burgers out of the bag. He'd also brought fries and a shake for me and some beer for himself.

We settled in to eat. "Tell me everything, Cupcake." He was smiling his best smile at me and I felt connected to him and happy.

"Let's see. I saw the Doctor again earlier this week. He says everything is perfect. Everything is still on schedule for February 26th. I also read an article that said that, statistically speaking, most first time mothers deliver their child between 5 and 6 days after the due date, so I hope we will make it to March 1 or 2 before I domino."

"Why?"

"What if you aren't home yet? I don't want to have this baby until you are home." Uh oh. Big tears. Not fake ones this time. Real ones. I couldn't help it. I hadn't really said it out loud before but I was really afraid Joe was going to miss the delivery. He was on his knees in front of my chair at the table in a flash. He pulled me into him and quietly soothed me.

"Honey, I'll be there. I don't know how, but, even if I have to ditch this stupid assignment, I'll be there. I can't believe I did this. It was so foolish. I should have known it wouldn't wrap up as quickly as I'd hoped. Please don't cry, Baby. I love you and I promise we'll work it out. Okay?" He was kissing the tears off of my face and hugging me tightly.

I took a deep breath, relaxing in his scent, and blew it out. "Okay. I'm okay. Really. Go back and eat. I'm fine." He was trying to see if I really was fine or if I was just telling him that. I smiled a weak smile and said, "Really." He warily moved back to his chair.

I continued catching him up, describing the baby furniture in detail, telling him that my friends and his mother's friends and my mother's friends were planning the baby shower of the century. He joked, "We may need a bigger house." The shower is set for February 12.

I told him that I was worried about Bob being jealous of the baby. "Only if the baby eats food that Bob thinks should be his, which is everything." Joe laughed. I had read an article and explained that after the baby is born Joe should take a blanket or something that smells like Muffin home so that Bob can smell it until we bring the baby home and then Bob will have a familiar scent to go with the baby. "Why don't we just smear marinara sauce on the baby and then Bob will already be familiar with the scent?" Joe was in a good mood.

As far as work was concerned, I'd filled in for Lula the previous week and had gotten a lot of filing done. Additionally, it was weird, but it seemed that every sex worker in the city had gone FTA recently. The 'ho's, the pimps, the working boys, everyone. I didn't know what Vinnie was going to do. Most of them were usually not dangerous, but they can't make any money on the street if they are sitting in lockup, so they really, really don't want to go in. I was usually due for at least a foot race if I needed to take one of them in, and I was certainly not in any shape for that now.

Joe had finished eating and was kicked back in the chair, with his long legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankles. He was nursing a beer and he seemed happy just listening to me talk.

I told him that I had gone through all the paperwork that was scattered about during the break-in at our house and I confirmed that I didn't think anything at all was missing. It was just puzzling to me. He agreed.

I remembered that I had the newest sonogram pictures so I jumped up and went to my purse to get them. Joe was speechless, just like he had been every other time he had seen a sonogram picture. "Oh, wow." His face was just glowing. As he leafed through them, he got more excited with each one. Then he was on his feet and was dragging his fingers through his hair. He pulled me up from the chair and said, "When were you going to tell me?" Those whiskey colored eyes were sparkling like I'd never seen before and he had a big grin on his face.

"Huh, tell you what?" I was clueless.

"It's a boy! We're having a son. Oh, Stephanie. I can't believe it." He was really excited but I still didn't know what he was talking about.

"Joe, what do you see? I don't see anything."

"Right there. It's right there. This is amazing!" His hands were shaking and I couldn't even tell what he was pointing to. I grabbed my cell phone and called his cousin, Tiffany, who worked at Dr. Hands office. It was late, but she said she knew the sex and if I changed my mind and wanted to know, she'd tell me.

I guess it takes one to know one. He was right. Our baby isn't named Muffin anymore. Tonight we found out we are expecting Joseph Anthony Morelli, Jr. Joe is right. This is amazing.

After another energetic round of lovemaking that was playful and absolutely mind-blowing we both slept like the dead. We woke up refreshed and happy, feeling carefree and like the newlyweds we still are. I kept wanting to pinch myself to see if I was really here. A whirlwind of words was swirling in my head. I love my life. With Joe. My handsome husband. The father of my child. Our son. Joseph Anthony Morelli, Jr. Amazing.

It was early on the West Coast and the breakfast hadn't even been delivered yet when we stumbled to the shower together. It is a really luxurious shower. It was about 4 foot square and had a showerhead that makes you feel like you are in a pouring rainstorm, plus smaller shower heads on the sides that were adjustable and really cool. I was loving it. So was Joe. He looked so terrific. That sexy body was all wet and warm and wonderful. His every muscle was accentuated by the gorgeous golden tone of his skin.

I'd finally gotten past the thought that Joe had been here before with someone else, probably Terri. They had been in this cottage, in this bed, in this shower, in front of this fireplace. Stop it, Stephanie. So, he has a past. So do you. Yeah. You were married before. You had sex with Dickie in the Holiday Inn in Downtown Trenton on your honeymoon. If you ever take Joe there for a wild, sexy weekend, he can just eat his heart out.

Joe derailed my train of thought with his fast fingers. I was sincerely grateful and relaxed enough to slide under the closed door by the time we got out of the shower. Breakfast was here and Joe loaded it onto a tray and served it to me in bed. He fed me quiche and fresh fruit with yogurt and kissed me between bites. Once again, he was magic. Without me even asking, he began telling me all about his two cases.

"Jeri Stevenson was obviously murdered because she knew too much. I have a short list of suspects now. Maybe 5 but none of them really fit perfectly. Apparently, she was dating Tommy Takata, and she was ready to break it off, but she threatened to tell what she knew. I don't think Tommy killed her. During our 'stoned' heart to heart talks, he's been pretty open about telling me that he really loved her. He's still pretty shaken up about her death, and I'm inclined to believe him. Sara Genieve could have done it, I guess, because she moved into Tommy's life really shortly thereafter but I don't think she has much of a motive, other than keeping him out of jail, but I don't think she'd kill someone for him. Hell, after almost 10 years of common law marriage, I still don't think she'd kill anyone for him. I think it's all about convenience at this point. They have 2 kids, but they just sort of stay together because it's easier than starting over. Tommy said that his mother hated Jeri, but I can't see Mrs. Takata killing her, either."

"Joe," I said, "when I was looking through the desk at the things that were disturbed during the breakin, I found a big wad of women's business cards at the back of the bottom drawer." He was grinning.

"My little black bundle." He crooned.

"That's what I thought, Handsome." I snuggled up and gave him a big kiss. "There was a card in the bundle for Terri."

"Yeah, I'm sure there were several cards for her in that stack. She has worked for her dad in a lot of different capacities." He laughed aloud and took another bite of quiche.

"This one was for an auto repair shop. I can't remember the name. It was sort of weird." Damn those dying brain cells.

He laughed again with a big belly laugh. "Yeah, I can't remember the real name of that place, either. I always called it the 'G-Spot' – It was really something like G-Force or something."

I said, "It was almost right next door to the Genieve Auto Importers. Did you realize that?"

"Um – no. I hadn't thought about it." He said, his brow furrowed. "Do you think there's a connection?"

"I'm not sure, but isn't it worth consideration?" I had my mouth full of fruit that Joe had just shoveled in and was trying to talk to him around chewing.

"Cupcake, all I know is that you are worthy of my full attention and consideration today." As he said this, he was leaning across me, naked, and placing the breakfast tray on the floor. As he sort of kicked his feet to regain his balance, I caught my first glimpse of 'the scar' on his ass. Apparently, me and his proctologist will be the only ones to ever see it. The 'Kung-Fu' move must have given the bullet the opportunity to enter his ass in sort of a 'not so obvious' spot between the cheeks, so to speak, and in an upward angle. Oh, well. No harm, no foul, I always say. He seems to have fully recovered. Especially the important parts. He was busy demonstrating that important part to me once again.

He had been laying opposite me, so that we could see each other better during breakfast, but it also gave me excellent access to his crotch. I had been making plans, so I took the opportunity to grasp him with my left hand and lower my mouth to him. He curled his body around Muffin and began to employ his own tongue in an artful way. It seemed a bit bizarre to call the baby by his real name when we were being sexy, so at those times I was still calling him 'Muffin'. The rest of the time, the baby was Joe Jr. or Joey, or JJ or whatever else I could think of to try out since we found out the sex. Or since Joe did, anyway.

Of course I couldn't see his face in this position. I just concentrated on the vibrations I could feel rising from his body in the form of moans and sighs. I was highly distracted at least once or twice but felt a tremendous victory when I heard his characteristic groan signaling his orgasm. He collapsed back against the bed, breathing hard and gasping. The next moment found him clutching me and rolling me onto my back so he could cradle me in his arms and rest his sweaty forehead on my feverish neck.

Joe has always been, and I guess, always will be energized by sex, so he said, "Let's take a little quick shower again, and go for a walk down by the lake out back. It's really nice out there and it's supposed to be warmer today."

My eyes fluttered, and I acquiesced. "Joe, I love you so much." He carried me to the shower. Afterwards, we dressed in a hurry.

Joe was in a long-sleeved black t-shirt and jeans that hugged his thigh muscles and his ass. They made my mouth water. He finished dressing when he pulled on some black leather boots. I put on a sexy blue maternity top that Joe said made my eyes shine and some maternity jeans with tennis shoes.

I was feeling as sexy as you could feel when you were 7 months pregnant. Joe is a master at making me feel sexy. He knows just how to push my buttons. He would periodically stop doing whatever he was doing to embrace my body, arms around my waist, and kiss my forehead or my hairline. He loves me and he was good at proving it. I was afraid I'd overdone it, because I was definitely feeling crampy. After no sex for two months, I'd had like 15 orgasms in the last 12 hours, so we'd have to cool it for a while. The walk would do me good.

"So," I said, as we were on our walk down the wooded path, "how does the guy in prison for killing the cop fit into the whole story?"

"Well, Honey, I'm not really sure. That's sort of why we're here instead of in Detroit or in Trenton or anywhere else." Joe was holding my hand and walking down the sloped path a step or two ahead of me to make sure I didn't fall. He stopped and folded me into his arms and helped me down a rough patch of terrain. "I'm going to meet with him tomorrow."

"What's his name?" I asked.

"Jeffrey Green. I'm really sure I've met him, but his mug shot doesn't ring any bells. I can't figure out who he is or why I think I know him. He didn't go to high school in Trenton."

He sort of sighed and leaned into me. His arm was around my waist. He was looking into my eyes. "I love you, Stephanie. I'd rather think about that right now, okay?" He still had that sort of tired look. I realized that he had been thinking about the case in almost his every waking moment for 4 months and he needed a break.

"Okay," I responded. "I love you, Joe. You are all I ever wanted and I just want you home with me soon, okay?"

His smile was sort of slanted, like he almost didn't expect it. "Yeah, okay, Cupcake." He pressed his lips against my own. I remembered, once again, that I loved this man. We'd each called our mothers and told them the sex and the name of the baby this morning. I felt closer to Joe than I had in a long time – maybe ever. I just loved him. He's the guy whose soul melted in with mine and filled in all the gaps, so that I felt whole.

"Since we know that the baby is a boy, we need to decide how we want to decorate his room," I said, "I don't like baby colors and baby themes. I want to do something that can last for a while. I'm thinking….Superheros. What do you think?"

Joe grinned at me and sat me down on a big boulder overlooking the lake. He leaned against another one nearby. "Superheros. That could be fun. I can see that." He got an evil grin. "Cupcake, we have to agree on what constitutes a Superhero. Superman has super strength, X Ray vision and can fly. Spiderman can cast webs and swing from them and all that."

I knew exactly where he was heading. He leaned over me, brought my eyes to his and said, "Batman's not a Superhero. He has no super powers. He's just a guy with a lot of money. There should definitely be no Batman in Joe Jr.'s Superhero room."

"No Batman. Got it." I said just before I kissed him.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The lake was breathtaking. It was much warmer today and we didn't even need gloves or scarves. There was no wind and the water was just totally placid.

"Joe, I know you've told me a couple of times that you don't want to talk about the case, but can you suspend that decision for just a minute or two? I have an idea I want to run by you."

"Go for it, Cupcake. I'm all ears." I started to beg to differ because I had been privy to much more than his ears today, but thought that may get us off track again.

"I remembered the name of that business. It was 'G-Fource'. It was spelled like the number 4 – G F O U R C E. What if it stood for Grizolli, Genieve, Green and …..somebody else?"

He said, "Really? G-Fource? I never realized that. That's an interesting concept. I'll have to think about who the last G would be – oh wait, I know. Gilman. That would be the 4th G."

"Gilman? Like Terri's ex-husband? Her name was still Grizolli on the card I found."

"Yeah, that's where they met. He'd gone into business with her dad. His auto repair shop was a legitimate business until then, but when Grizolli got involved, it became a front for the distribution of illegal materials."

"What kind of illegal materials?"

"Guns and drugs. I was new on the PD at that time. I was still in uniform. Terri and I were on the outs, as usual, because she knew I would bust her or her family if I could prove anything."

"How did you continue to date her back then? You knew what was going on. Didn't you have a problem reconciling that with your personal life?" I was really curious and had just never understood this about Joe and Terri as a couple.

Joe's face was sort of screwed into a scowl. "I told you I would tell you anything you wanted to know. Are you sure you want to know? It's not a really happy story."

"Yes, Absolutely." Maybe. Maybe not. Probably not. What the hell, I'd already said yes.

"Have you ever done something just to get along? You know, just because it is easier than all the grief you would get if you didn't?"

"Sure."

He seemed to be trying to figure out how to tell me about it. He finally just jumped in. "Terri and I were together more on than off from the time that I was 15 years old until I was about 23. Even when I was in the Navy, if I got any time off, she would come see me. It was just easier than the alternative. If she wasn't there, I would go out with my buddies and pick up girls. It wasn't like it was ever exclusive with her, you know, and she knew that, but if she was willing to do the work, travel to see me and everything, hell, that was fine, too. Terri was always a sure thing and back then that was pretty damned important to me." He was looking at his feet and kicking around some rocks on the shore of the lake. Periodically he would reach down and pick one up and then throw it hard across the water. "Makes me sound like a real jack-ass but you know that description fit me for a long time."

He stole a little glance at me under his long eyelashes. He was really ashamed of his behavior with her, I'm sure. He drew himself up with a deep breath and said, "I treated her really shitty and she always came back for more. I guess it was an ego thing or something. My big ego combined with her lousy self-esteem made us fit in perfectly with both of our families. They all just figured we'd get married and live miserably ever after. But I knew that wasn't what I wanted. For either of us, really. I'd love to see Terri happy like I am with you. She deserves that. She's really not as bad as she wants you to think she is." He winked at me. He had conflicting emotions. He knew I was jealous but he wanted me to see why he still treats Terri with some respect and protectiveness.

"Anyway, when I got out of the Navy and went to the Police Academy, she thought I should be ready to settle down. But I wasn't – not with her, anyway. Eventually, of course, I got out of the academy and started working on the force. I kept hoping she'd meet someone and ditch me because when I tried to break it off she'd get so upset. She would threaten suicide and actually tried a couple of times. Finally, she got pregnant, or at least she told me she was. My sisters think she was faking it all along. I'm not sure, but I knew I had a responsibility to her if she was pregnant and I couldn't turn my back on her."

I had been wondering if Joe would ever tell me about his 'engagement' to Terri. I guess this is his way of doing that.

Another deep breath and he continued, "I was so fucking miserable. I didn't know what to do. I was going to marry her because I thought that was the right thing under the circumstances, but I knew that it wasn't going to work. I didn't love her. She didn't love me – it was more of an obsession than love. A counselor we went to called us 'co-dependent'." He was smiling and shaking his head like he hadn't thought about that in a while.

"You went to a counselor?" I asked, surprised.

"Jeez, Cupcake, after her suicide attempts, my career conflicting with her family's 'business' and then getting pushed into a marriage I didn't want, I had to have some counseling. I was getting more violent with her and I knew that was just going to get worse. At first, I went to the counselor alone but he said we both needed to come in. We'd been to a couple of sessions and Terri realized I think for the first time, that ours was not exactly a match made in heaven."

We had started walking around the lake and it was a beautiful day. Joe was talking easily now and I knew it was good for us to talk about things like this. He was holding my hand and casting glances at me periodically but mostly we were both just looking at the lake and the trees around us.

"And then," Joe stopped walking and put his arms around me. He looked into my eyes and said, "a beautiful girl who I had treated very shabbily in the past tried to kill me with her father's car." He leaned in and kissed me. "I guess that's when Terri sort of snapped out of it. I was in the hospital getting my leg set and she decided that she needed a way out. She knew it wasn't going to work either, for all the reasons I mentioned before. She called it off. Thank God."

"What did she say about the baby?" I had to hear it from him.

"She said she'd miscarried. I don't know what really happened. I didn't doubt her at the time. Maybe she never was really pregnant like my sisters said. Either way, I'm glad it worked out. So, that's the whole story. After that, we would get together periodically just for sex, but it wasn't more than that. It was easy and familiar and convenient like I told you before. That's sort of where we were when she worked at the G-Spot auto repair shop. I didn't have any big moral issues to deal with other than sex out of wedlock, but you know that I didn't have a problem dealing with that one!" He was laughing, glad to have the big conversation out of the way, I'm sure.

"After a year or so she married Gilman. That was bizarre, too. We were together in bed one night sort of catching our breath and she told me she was eloping with him the next day. I nearly had a heart attack. I was sure he was going to blaze in with a gun and kill me. Obviously their relationship wasn't any healthier than mine had been with her. The tables were turned, however. In that relationship, she was the one in charge – the one on the ego trip and he was the weaker, more obsessive one. I told you he's still sort of trying to get her back."

We'd made it completely around the lake and had stopped to rest on the same rocks we'd stopped at earlier.

"So, getting back to your theory," Joe said, thoughtfully, "if it really was Grizolli, Gilman, Genieve and Green, that gives us a connection to Sara's family's business. It also tells me that Terri may actually have some information on Jeri Stephenson's murder, which I was beginning to doubt."

He helped me back up the path to the cottage and pulled me into a warm embrace. His mouth was warm and wet on mine, a sharp contrast to the cool mid-day air. "Stephanie, you are beautiful and clever. I think you may have put two and two together today."

I felt so proud of myself. I also felt very, very hungry. We decided to get in the car and go in search of lunch. After that, I knew I would be wanting a nap since Muffin, um, Joey and I had gotten into the habit of taking one every afternoon.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"OH MY GOD, JOE! If you stop, I swear I'll get my gun and shoot you!" I was writhing around and Joe was grinning. "That feels better than anything you have ever done to me - ever. Don't stop, please, don't stop!"

"Cupcake, if I'd known I could get you this excited by just rubbing your feet, I could have saved an awful lot of work for myself." He was laughing.

"Well, my feet have been hurting a lot…oh, wow. Really, don't stop. That feels Soooo good."

"You're pretty cute when you beg. I'm going to have to refresh my bedroom skills, I guess. I don't like you getting more excited about a footrub than a full body rub." He was still rubbing my feet and it really did feel wonderful. They were pretty swollen, but the walk today helped a lot.

We had spent the afternoon in the cabin, just talking, laying in front of the fireplace and napping. It was heaven.

Joe had found a nice little restaurant in town and had taken me to eat dinner and then for a little sightseeing drive. We were back at the cottage for the evening.

"What time is your appointment at the prison tomorrow?" I asked.

"I need to get there around 10 in the morning. I'll leave here at about 8:15 or so. Do you want to drive me over and keep the car? I hate to leave you stuck out here all day." He knows I get bored easily.

"No, I figure I'll take another walk around the lake. I still have some reading to do before my next doctor's appointment and I brought some FTA files I can check out if I want." I hate driving in strange cities. I always get lost and somehow end up in a really bad part of town. Joe doesn't need to know this about me yet. He already knows enough of my flaws. Let him find out the rest on his own.

I tuned back into what he was saying. "I hope I have some big revelation in my sleep or something because I am still really fuzzy on how this guy fits in. It seemed more promising when I thought he'd just switched teams – I thought I could get him to rat someone out if he was mad at them. Now that I have your theory that he was actually in business with both of the families at the same time, that changes matters considerably. I don't know where his loyalties lie. If I go about it the wrong way, it could blow the case, or at least my chances of getting him to give me information."

"You'll do great. You always get information out of me, don't you?" Joe chuckled at that thought.

"Yeah, but not until I've made you so mad that you just yell it at me." He had stopped rubbing my feet and climbed up next to me on the bed. He hadn't shaved today and had a sexy rugged look about him. His hair was long. Not long long like it had been before, but Joe long. Anyone else would look like he needed a haircut. Joe looked perfect. It was curling around his ears and over his forehead. I was sort of fiddling with it and kissing him lightly.

My cell phone rang. My purse was next to Joe's side of the bed, so he plucked it up and handed it to me. I didn't know the number, but I answered it anyway. "Hello?"

"Stephanie, it's Terri. I need to talk to Joe."

"Oh, okay. He's right here." I said, and then to Joe, "It's Terri."

"Hey Terri, what's up?" Joe was listening to her talk. I didn't know why she would be calling. It better be important for her to be bugging us.

"Did you hear anything else?" Joe said. "Okay, thanks for the information. Hey, how's Darth?" He was laying on his back and staring at the ceiling while she answered. He was smiling, too. "Well, don't be mean to him. He doesn't like you already…just ignore him, but don't tease him. No, it's too cold to leave him outside. Terri, dammit, if I have to put up with all your crap, the least you can do is let him sleep in the house……well close the bedroom door if he bugs you….." Joe was laughing now. "It serves you right. Now you know how I feel when you bug me all the damn time." He hung up the phone. I didn't know which conversation I was more interested in, why Terri called, or who the heck is Darth?

He rolled back toward me and put his hand on my hip. "Terri got word that Green is looking forward to talking to the cops. Supposedly, he isn't affiliated with either family anymore but they both seem to be keeping tabs on him. The problem will be if they put two and two together and realize that it's me who is talking to him. I've got a fake name and badge that I'll use to talk with him, so unless he realizes that it's fake, he won't be leaking my name back to them."

Joe had balled his pillow up underneath his head and looked like he was about half asleep. I had to know about Darth, however.

"So, Joe, who is Darth you were talking to Terri about?"

He smiled, without opening his eyes. "Darth Greyder. He's a little grey kitten that adopted me a couple of weeks ago. He's tiny – probably not even ready to be fully weaned, but he latched onto my pants leg and climbed all the way up my leg and into my coat and on up to my chest one day while I was standing and watching some activity on the street in front of our apartment. He's a tough little shit. He was so cold, he just wanted to get warm so he got right in my face and told me so. I took him inside and fed him. I think he almost doubled in size in just the few days he's been there."

"You are such an old softie. What's Bob going to do when you bring home a cat and a baby? Poor guy will probably have an identity crisis." I was smiling at him and stroking his scratchy jaw.

"I figured I'd give Darth to Mom. She likes cats but my dad hated them. She's never had one, even though he's been gone all these years. I wasn't going to keep him at all, but he's really aggressive and he absolutely hates Terri. It's hilarious. He torments her constantly. He, you know, does kitten stuff. He chases her. He plays with the cord on the curling iron while she is getting ready and it makes her burn herself. He scratches and bites her bare feet. The funniest thing is that he eats her food. She'll make a sandwich or something and the second she turns her back, he is right in the middle of it, eating the meat out of it. He doesn't do it to me. Just to her. She said he wants to sleep with her since I'm not there and it's bugging her. He's got these little razor sharp teeth and claws. I've rolled over on him in my sleep a couple of times and woken up needing medical care. He's just so damn funny. She was threatening to toss him out, but I know she won't. She's a bigger sucker than I am."

Here I am again, feeling jealous of Joe and Terri. Damn. I have got to get over it. I don't expect him to work 24x7. He has to do something for amusement. I'm glad it is tormenting Terri instead of flirting with her or something worse. Now they have a pet together. Damn.

It was getting late and I didn't want Joe to have to sleep all night in his clothes, so I pulled off his shoes and socks and headed up to take off his shirt. He had sort of a smirk on his face and when I reached for him, he pulled me down and rolled me into a spoon position with his arms around me and his head at my neck. I liked how this felt, but again, I wanted all his clothes off so I struggled free and started on his shirt again. He let me undress him and then said, "Can we take a little nap, Honey, I'm sleepy." It was warm and cozy in the cabin from the fireplace and it was late. I knew Joe's 'nap' was liable to turn into 'sleeping through the night' but I didn't mind. I pulled down the covers and had him get under and then undressed myself. I snuggled up with my head on his chest and stared into the fire, reliving the day's events – and non-events. I love just hanging out with Joe.

I can't sleep. He's so sexy and I am so hormonal. Yeah, I'll blame it on the baby. It can't be that I'm just horny. I don't know if it is unethical to take advantage of your sleeping husband sexually. After all, he is my husband. And he is naked. And I am naked. And he has never turned me down when he was awake. Okay. I am positive he wouldn't mind. If he happens to wake up in the middle, I'll die of embarrassment. Maybe I can convince him I was sleep-screwing. I'll just keep my eyes closed. Here goes. Carefully reach across his body and take hold of him. Oh, that presents a problem. I've never really felt him soft like that. Hmm. That's a little disheartening. I don't think this will work. Oh, my little friend is waking up. Joe isn't, but uh, part of him is definitely stirring.

I don't think this is going to be as easy as I thought it would be. He's on his back, which normally would be a good thing. I can get on top. What the hell, give it a shot. What can it hurt? Okay, just relax, Stephanie. Stop giggling! You are seriously going to wake him up! Keep your eyes closed. What's that? Ooohh. Joe is going to help. He's got his hands on my hips and is definitely going to participate. Oh, yeah. This is nice. I swear he's still asleep. Maybe it's good to be married to a horn dog. He really can screw in his sleep.

Now comes the next ethical question. What if I'm done before he is? Do I need to stick around and finish up? He's not really there, right? At this point, he's just a toy, right? A shower massage with a hot body. God, I love his body. I need to concentrate or this could go on all night. It wouldn't be the worst night I've ever had, but still.

6:15 a.m.

Joe shut off the alarm clock and stretched. There's that body again. God, he's hot. He snuggled back into me and was kissing my neck. He's back to his old tricks. Hardness shoved into my kidneys is my favorite way to wake up. "Good morning, Joe. Did you sleep okay?"

His voice was husky with sleep. "Yeah, I slept great. How about you, Cupcake?"

"Oh, wonderful. I had a fantastic night." I slipped out of the bed to go to the restroom. I think I got by with it! He doesn't remember a thing! It had really turned out to be a super-erotic experience. Neither of us saying a word. It was like our bodies were on auto-pilot and they just knew how to pleasure each other without a word spoken. Hot, hot, hot. Too bad Joe had missed it.

"I had a really bizarre dream last night," he said loud enough for me to hear him in the bathroom.

I finished and came back out and then stretched out next to him on the bed, "Oh, yeah, Sexy? What did you dream?" I started nibbling on his ear.

"I dreamed that I arrested your Grandma Mazur for solicitation of an old man, and she wanted to trade me sexual favors for letting her go."

"OMIGOD! Joe! That's so gross!"

He had such a gleam in his eye. "Gotcha, Cupcake." He got out of the bed and strolled that fine looking ass into the shower, laughing all the way.

He is so dead. He's gonna pay for that.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

When Joe came to the breakfast table, he was still damp from the shower. If I wasn't so humiliated, I would have jumped him right then and there. He was just wearing boxers and he looked oh, so sexy with his hair damp.

"So," I said, keeping my eyes averted, "you were awake the whole time?" How embarrassing.

"Nope," he said, popping a mini-blueberry muffin in his mouth, "I wouldn't say the 'whole' time. I came to for the grand finale, however." He leaned down to kiss me and I figured, 'what the hell, he doesn't seem to mind, just go with it.'

"It was pretty damned good, anyway." I admitted, studying my feet.

"That's an understatement. Think about it, Cupcake. I got to wake up to find the most beautiful, sexy woman I've ever met perched up on top of ole' smokey, pleasuring herself with my body. That is not the worst thing to ever happen to me. Besides that, I didn't have to initiate it, obviously, and I was allowed to go back to sleep approximately 10 seconds after the action stopped without having any commentary or heartfelt banter. You know, all those things add up to just about every guy's fantasy. So," he bent to kiss me again, deeper this time, capturing my eyes with his, "thank you, Cupcake. You never cease to amaze and excite me. I love you."

He sauntered back toward the bedroom to dress. Now is the dilemma, do I just take him at his word and let it drop, or should I do what he expects a woman to do and get pissed off at him for not 'wanting' the heartfelt banter he 'has' to provide on an everyday basis? Hmmm. Well, like I said, it was damned erotic to me, so I'm just going to let it drop and try it again some other time.

In just a few minutes, Joe emerged wearing the Trenton PD investigator's dress uniform, which includes khakis, a white t-shirt under a blue button down, brown dress shoes and a belt. He had a tie stuck in the pocket of his khakis, which I assumed he'd put on when he got there.

He sat down and finished eating breakfast while reviewing a file on Jeff Green. He was silent for a couple of minutes, and then he looked up at me, "What are you going to do with yourself today? If you get bored, just call a Taxi to take you into town."

"Okay. I really think I'll be fine. My mother says I'm 'nesting', I guess that means I'm okay just hanging around and planning things for the baby. I seem to be daydreaming a lot more than normal these days."

Joe's eyelids were at half-mast. His eyes were so dark and dreamy, I could have looked into them forever. "I can't wait to be in your nest with you," he said. He stood, and bent to kiss me goodbye. I had to struggle not to cry. I kept reminding myself he'd be here with me for another day before we had to go back to our separate realities. I was looking down and swallowing hard and I guess he realized what was going on. He squatted down next to me and nuzzled my face and neck with his. "I'll miss you and I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?"

"Okay," I managed to croak out. "I'll be fine. Really. See you tonight." I was smiling again. He kissed me on the cheek and took off out the door.

I'd gotten up to spend a little time with Joe before he left, but Joey and I were still a little sleepy, so we climbed back into bed and slept for a couple more hours.

I rolled out of bed around 10 a.m. which is 1 p.m. in Trenton. That sounds about right to me. I think Joe Jr. and I are going to get along just fine. He's a night owl like I am. We'll do fine. Joe is a natural night owl, too, but he's had to adapt to daytime hours for work, mostly. If left to my own devices, I just come awake around 9 p.m. and then I want to sleep until early afternoon. We'll see how this works after the baby is born.

Speaking of Joe Jr., he seems ready to play now. I took a shower and did the hair and makeup thing. I was ready to roll by noon. I was wearing jeans and tennis shoes with a purple sweater. I checked to see how cold it was outside. It seemed a little chillier than yesterday when Joe and I walked around the lake, but still not bitterly cold at all, so I put on my coat and a hat and gloves and headed out for a walk. I'm normally exercise averse, but since going to the gym regularly and also seeing how beautiful the lake was, I was looking forward to the walk. Not to mention that it may earn me another footrub tonight.

The walk around the lake was glorious. The air was still and crisp and the water was tranquil and placid. I felt invigorated and was wishing I'd kept the car like Joe offered. I was a little stir crazy after staying at the cabin most of the day yesterday.

I took my time strolling around the lake and talking to the baby. There was nobody else around, so I didn't think I'd be committed for seemingly speaking to no one. I went back inside and found that Joe had bought sandwich stuff and I could eat lunch, thankfully.

I read two more chapters in my 'pregnant' book. Those on breastfeeding (yuck) and sex while breastfeeding (hmmm, interesting – I was happy to learn they didn't mean having sex and breastfeeding simultaneously).

I had started to pick up the stack of FTA's I had brought with me. I just wanted to stay on top of things happening in the criminal community. I'd brought about 22 files. Since I wasn't doing many takedowns anymore, Vinnie was letting Lula try her hand at it. He was using Joyce Barnhart for some, and Ranger and his men were pitching in by lowering their standards and taking on some cases with payoffs of less than $10,000. Even with all that, and Vinnie bringing in a few FTA's himself, we were really backed up.

I was getting depressed just thinking about the files, so I put them back down. There were some old magazines in the cottage on the little coffee table, so I spent some time flipping through them and watching TV.

7:00 p.m.

I again heard Joe's boots crunching on the pine needle covered path out in front of the cottage. He'd had a full day, which could be very good, or very bad. "Hi, Cupcake. I'm home." He was smiling, so I'm guessing very good.

I popped up and rushed over to him for a big hug and kiss. "How did the meeting go?"

Cop face. Uh oh. Why would Joe need his cop face – the one where he expresses no emotion and I can't read anything from his eyes. "It was good. I got a lot of good information. Hey, let me get cleaned up and we'll go into town for a pizza or something." He walked past me into the bedroom.

I stood in place, sort of chewing on my lip for a few minutes. He'd shared information with me pretty freely until now. I wondered what had happened. It makes me really mad when he won't tell me things. In the past few months, I've been worried, I've been lonely, I've been jealous and I've been scared, but I have not been mad. Until now.

"Joe? Why are you avoiding me?" I didn't even try to hide the edge in my voice.

"Cupcake, I'm not avoiding you. I told you I'm getting cleaned up for dinner." He was shaving. He never shaves after work. He hates shaving. He is most definitely avoiding me.

About the time I was prepared to storm into the bathroom and throw a good old fashioned temper tantrum, my cell phone rang. The caller ID showed it was Ranger. Interesting. He wouldn't call if it wasn't important. "Hello?"

"Babe. Let me talk to Morelli."

"What? No 'Hello, How are you? I screwed Terri freakin' Gilman's brains out?'"

He chuckled. Actually chuckled. But he regained his composure really quickly. "Really, let me talk to Morelli."

"No, really, I want to hear about this Gilman thing. Was it everything you ever wanted and more?" I was just pulling his chain. He wasn't comfortable talking about his personal life.

"Babe, it was pretty damned excellent. Let's just say that I have a few new definitions of the word 'takedown'. If I need to bring Morelli in again, I have some ideas about how I'll change up my strategy. **Now**, can I talk to Morelli?"

"Uh, Ranger? Joe has a good policy. If I ask a question and he doesn't think I really want to hear the answer, he asks me if I REALLY want to know. Believe me, I really didn't want to know that about Terri. Please don't tell me anymore, okay? Now that I'm thinking of it, why do you need to talk to Joe?"

"He called and I missed it. I'm just returning his call."

Interesting. "Joe," I was standing in the open door to the bathroom where Joe was still 'cleaning up', "It's Ranger."

He smiled a tight smile. "Thanks, Honey." He took the phone and shut the door in my face and then started the shower. I assume so that I couldn't hear him on the phone. Now I'm doubly pissed.

I stood outside the door and steamed for a bit, but then remembered that there was a window in the bathroom. I wondered if I walked around the outside of the cottage if I could hear him better because he would be standing over next to the window to talk on the phone. I grabbed my shoes, my jacket, hat and gloves and took off outside and around the side of the cottage. I neared the window carefully, so as to not make any noise.

Bingo. I could hear Joe's voice. "That's what I thought. Shit. How can we make sure Stephanie doesn't get in the middle of that case? Now that I know he's a murderer, or at least an accused murderer, I really don't want her trying to bring him in…..(listening)…..well, I know she's not doing a lot of apprehensions right now, but you know Stephanie. First, the case he's FTA on is just a simple B&E. He's got nothing in his record that would tell her that he's dangerous and I know she's still doing a few non-confrontational takedowns. Secondly, she'd go after him a lot more aggressively if she knew it would get me home faster because the murder case is solved….(listening)….Oh, yeah. He definitely knows me and he knows I'm on the case. As soon as he heard her say that her name is Morelli, he'd be all over her. I'm just scared he'd hurt her or the baby or both, just to get to me and out of the murder rap….(listening)…Okay. I appreciate your help Ranger. Oh, I'm sorry Terri has you in such a compromising position. Are you mobile? Good. There's an extra key to those cuffs in the egg tray in the fridge. Yeah, it's good to be prepared with Terri around. Good luck. She'll be pissed when she finds out you escaped. Sometimes with Terri, pissed is good. She's very passionate when she's pissed, if you know what I mean." The idiot was laughing. "Just be sure you get her cuffed as soon as she comes back in because if you don't there's no telling what she'll do to you. Okay. Thanks again."

I ran fast around the front of the cottage and back inside. Joe was coming out of the 'shower' when I was taking off my coat. "How was your shower?" I asked.

"Fine, your nose is all red. Were you outside?"

"Yes. Just took a little walk. Your hair isn't wet. You sure took a long shower to not even get your hair wet." We can both play the 'I spy' game, you know.

Joe just smiled at me and I just smiled at him. "So, what are you hungry for?"

"Pizza." He grabbed his coat and we headed for the car.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

I had a decision to make about my next move. I could take one of several courses at this point. I could tell Morelli I heard what he said on the phone to Ranger and try to bully and coax the truth out of him. Yeah, fat chance of that working. We'd just end up fighting and ruin the short amount of time we have together.

I could play innocent and hope to charm him into sharing the information with me. This course of action was not likely to work. If Joe thinks he's protecting me, no amount of flirting is going to get around that primitive instinct. At that level, he is the caveman who would sooner whack me over the head and drag me into the cave by my hair than let me face the dinosaur on my own.

Another option I have available to me would be to try to figure it out myself. I suppose this is my best chance. Apparently the person in question is a man. Joe had said that much. Also, I knew after the conversation he had with Ranger that the guy must have been arrested and bonded out by Vinnie at one point on a Breaking and Entering charge and was now FTA. I knew his priors had not been violent so there was a damned good chance that I had the guy's file here with me.

I decided to just enjoy my remaining time with Joe and pursue this matter in my 'spare time'. Although he was acting like a Neanderthal and protecting his 'little woman' and his child, he was right about one thing. If there was a chance I could apprehend this guy and enable Joe to be home sooner, in time for the birth of our first child, you'd better believe I would do it. I **will** do it, that is.

I'd missed him while he was gone today. We started making out before we even got to the car to go into town and get pizza. After a bit of passionate necking, a little nibbling, and some well-placed strokes from each of us, we decided to get the pizza 'to go'. We'd made the round trip in 40 minutes, including one stop to get me a strawberry milkshake and another stop to get Joe more beer.

Upon arriving back at our room, I was balancing a pizza on one hand and clutching my shake with the other. Joe's hands were occupied with his 6-pack of Corona and my ass. He walked backwards all the way to the door and we never broke our lips apart. This was quite a feat and by the time we got there we were both feeling the exhilaration that circus performers probably get when they do their act without anyone dying.

Joe's erection was so hard, I swear he could drive nails with it. I was pretty horny myself, remembering the amazing sex from the night before. However, we had to balance one basic need against the other. "Joe?" I panted, "I really want you bad, but I am REALLY hungry. Is that okay? I'll eat really fast."

"Cupcake, I am going to pass out from hunger before I could even get you undressed, so, yeah, let's eat first. I promise I'll make it up to you," he responded, smiling that we were, once again, on the same wavelength.

I turned on a game on TV so that I could stop staring and salivating at Joe's crotch. I was still preoccupied, however. We collapsed on the sofa and ate in a hurry. I was pacing myself. The baby was now taking up a lot of room so it would be easy to overeat. Also, I had learned by now that it was some of that same room that Joe would want to occupy when we made love so I tried really hard to limit my pizza intake. I did drink the entire shake, however. I wasn't going to go overboard with the conservation plan. Also, the shake had to be loaded with calcium – and fruit - strawberries. That's a good thing for the baby.

I tried to ask Joe a few questions about his day, but predictably, the curtain of 'cop face' would fall across his features. Nonetheless, he did volunteer more information than I expected him to. He said the interview went well and that he got a lot of valuable facts. He even allowed that most of the information he had received was regarding the murder of Jeri Stephenson and not the operation of the Geneive crime family. However, he said that Sara Geneive's father had allowed Tommy Takata to take control of the family 6 years ago, basically because he was still of the old school and didn't think a woman should head a crime ring. Also, if anyone was going down, he wanted it to be Tommy, and not his daughter, even though she was obviously the boss. Jeff Green had apparently talked a lot today.

Putting two and two together, I was getting at least seven. Joe said he got a lot of information about Jeri's murder today. Earlier he had told Ranger that the 'guy' in question (who was now FTA) was a murderer. Maybe that meant he was Jeri's murderer. I wanted so much to stroll over to the stack of files I had left sitting on the end table next to the sofa and start to look through them. Fortunately, for me, Joe had finished wolfing down his pizza and had started working on my buttons. I was happy to reciprocate.

We made love on the sofa. Joe can be pretty creative, thank goodness, when he needs to. I swear the baby has grown just in the amount of time we've been here. After removing my top and jeans, Joe became pretty fascinated with the little maternity all in one undergarment I was wearing. It was black and lacy, obviously stretchy and had a built in bra that could stop a tank. It culminated at the crotch with a very lacy panty that could unsnap. My sister had encouraged me to get one. Besides being pretty, she said it would help support my enlarging tummy in the upcoming weeks. Joe didn't seem interested in my tummy at the moment.

He was on the floor kneeling in front of me, while I sat upright on the sofa. He had leaned in and was nibbling my nipples through the reinforced spandex on the cups of the brassiere. My breasts were tender and I reminded him not to get too aggressive with them. His intense gaze at my face from under the fringe of his eyelashes was erotic and sexy. He sleepily dropped his attention to my other breast. I had pulled his t-shirt off quickly, but his jeans were still on. I could feel his erection digging into my knee as he pressed himself against me. I had to get those jeans off.

They were my favorites. They rode low on his hips and were pretty baggy in the thighs, but cradled his butt and his package very nicely. They were worn in the best strategic locations. Namely, I had rubbed his erection through them for years, so the denim covering him there was more frayed and just a tad lighter in color. One of my favorite memories of those jeans was one night when I was clinging to his belt loops and bending over backwards like an acrobat while he was suckling my breasts. We were on the stairs in his house and were just getting together again after one of our myriad breakups. The belt loops on either side of his jeans gave way and I fell down. Fortunately, I was the one higher on the steps, so my fall was basically just a hard sit-down and we had giggled about it. The incident had ripped half-inch holes in each side of the hips of the jeans and I could see his plaid boxers through the holes now.

He was going to leave a bruise on my knee with his rock hard erection, so I had to make a move. I lifted my feet to grab the waistband of his jeans with my big toes on either side of his hips and I pushed them down. I knew I would hit a 'snag' when the waistband got to his engorged penis, but it was still a playful move. I realized for the first time that he'd lost weight during his assignment because the jeans that usually hugged his hips pretty tightly slid easily down several inches. He reached to unsnarl the tangle at his crotch and stood to discard the pants. Once done, I reached for him and he came to sit next to me on the sofa. "I love you, Joe. I need to feel you inside me," I begged.

He grinned in his characteristic way and said, "You want me bad." He busied himself trying to figure out the combination to unlock the crotch of my little black number. Moments later, he pulled at my hips to bring me to the edge of the sofa. Again he knelt in front of me and just when I thought I was going to get my wish of feeling that rock hard erection slide home, he bent to taste me. I was euphoric. He hadn't been very attentive orally to me on this trip, if you get my drift, and I was afraid he'd decided he didn't like it that way anymore. I flopped my head back on the sofa and reveled in the feeling of him licking and sucking at my damp folds. I glanced down and for the first time figured out what was probably going on and why he hadn't done this before. He couldn't see my face because of my huge tummy. He's told me before that the most erotic part of sex to him is watching my face as he brings me pleasure. Almost every time I glance down I can meet those whiskey-colored eyes and see the corners of his mouth turn up in a smile. Not now. No way. No wonder this hasn't happened until now. I decided if the only gratitude he could experience now was in my movement and my voice I would compensate accordingly. I could tell he appreciated the effort and he gave an excellent performance once I worked out the gratuity system.

After he felt he had appropriately worshipped my body and I had thanked him in kind, he resumed his kneeling position and entered me slowly. He reached up and interlocked his fingers with mine and drew me to him for a kiss. At one point, I was admiring his chest muscles. All the lights were off. The one, huge window that faced the lake was covered only with sheer curtains and the moonlight was pouring through, intensified by the light reflected from recently fallen snow. Joe's muscles were all outlined in silver. He was moving his body in a deliberate pattern and I could see his jaw working as he clenched and released it. He was breathing deeply through his nose and I could tell he was nearing orgasm. His head was back, his eyes were closed and I could see the muscles in his neck twitching with every stroke. I could tell this was one of those magical moments I would remember for the rest of my life.

Our fingers were still laced tightly together and the baby had joined in the party, kicking and swirling in my belly. With one huge shudder, Joe climaxed. His penis twitching inside me gave me amazing satisfaction – more than any earth-shattering orgasm ever had. He loved me. Why, I'll never know.

6:00 a.m.

"Damn, Joe. Why didn't you turn off that alarm? It's way too early to be up. That is, unless you are ready to reprise that performance from last night, you sexy devil, you." I had my arms wrapped around his neck and was already planning my attack.

"Stephanie," Joe said, tentatively, "I have a little confession to make. Please don't be mad. Things went pretty well yesterday. So well, in fact, that I need to go back in for a little while today. I didn't want to tell you because you seemed so sad yesterday when I left. However, I have something for you to do today so that you aren't sitting out here all alone."

"What? NO! You can't go to work again today!" I hadn't expected him to have to go back. I wanted to cry immediately, but I knew he hated it as much as I did. "How long will you have to work today? We have to go home tomorrow!" I was in full-out whine mode.

"I know, Sweetheart. You know I wouldn't do it at all if I didn't think it would pay off in the long run." He was definitely in defensive stance. His lips were a straight line. He didn't like the idea any more than I did. "Give me four hours today and I think it will pay off 2 weeks on the end of the assignment. I really think it will, okay?"

I wasn't done pouting. "Okay." He knew I was disappointed. He pulled me out of bed with him and took me to the shower. We both just sort of kept our thoughts to ourselves while we soaped and rinsed each other.

"What is it you have for me to do?" I asked, as I reached for a towel and handed him one.

"Well, because I had some pretty good news yesterday, I called Morgan (his boss from Trenton). He and his wife flew in last night. She has a sister who lives here and they made an appointment for all of you girls to go have breakfast and then get pampered at a nice spa place this morning. It's all on Morgan's tab. He says I'm making him look good." Joe was trying to smile, but he wasn't making it all the way. I still wasn't smiling. He knew and I knew that we'd rather be together than spending time apart, no matter how nice it was for me.

We both got dressed. Joe was wearing grey slacks, a white button down and a navy jacket today – this was real business. Again, his tie was hanging out of his pocket when we climbed in the car. I had just thrown on a little green maternity dress that my sister had given me. I wasn't exactly planning on a visit to a spa on this trip.

We drove to the Bernadine Hotel, where Morgan and his wife were waiting for us in the lobby. I had met them both once, at the department Christmas party last year. I was trying to be smiley and to act happy to see them. Debbie Morgan and I were to take her rental car and Joe and Morgan would go in ours.

Joe pressed a kiss into my forehead without further discussion and he and Morgan headed out the door. I could feel his tension. He so wanted this to pay off.

"Well, what's on the agenda?" I asked Debbie, brightly.

"We're going to meet my sister, Theresa, for breakfast at 'The Skillet' restaurant, and then we are going to go to a spa called 'The Pampered Pony' for pedicures and massages. Sound okay?"

"Sure," I responded. I'd rather be rubbed by Joe, but if that's not possible, this could be the next best thing.

We walked to the car, and had the typical friendly chat. How was your flight? When, exactly, is your due date? Do you know if the baby is a boy or a girl? Do you have a name picked out? Have you enjoyed Seattle so far?

By the time we were at the restaurant, we were chatting like old friends. I remembered Joe saying that the Morgan's had 4 children, so we had talked about them as well. Debbie was funny and easy to talk to, sharing silly stories about pregnancy and what it was like to bring a baby home from the hospital.

Debbie turned to me before we went into the restaurant and said, "Stephanie, I hope you know how well Joe is thought of in the law enforcement community. His ability to pull off operations like this is extremely critical to solving these sticky cases. The Trenton PD is really lucky to have him."

"Thanks," I said. "I know I'm lucky to have him. I'm really ready to have him back at home." There were tears in my eyes and I hoped Debbie would let it drop.

"From the little that my Tom has shared with me, I think you'll get your wish soon," she squeezed my hand and said, "Let's eat. I'm starving!"

We met Debbie's sister for breakfast and learned that the spa was just a short drive away. By 10 a.m., I had stuffed myself with French Toast, I figured there was no reason to save room for Joe today! I was thoroughly enjoying a wonderful pedicure. I was lounging in a black leather chair, my feet soaking in warm water, and listening to Debbie tell stories and visit with her sister. Joe said they would pick us up by lunchtime so I thought this was a nice way to kill the hours that stretched between us.

After the pedicure the massage therapist came to get me. I had never had a professional massage before except once when I was married to Dickie. He thought it would be sexy for us to get a couple's massage, where you are together in a room with two massage therapists. He thought it was erotic. I thought it was bizarre. Needless to say, he was disappointed when I wasn't very enthusiastic in thanking him afterwards.

I liked the lady doing the massage. She specialized in massages for the pregnant woman. There was a special massage table in her room that not only allowed you to put your face through the hole and look at the floor, but you could put your belly through another hole as well so you could comfortably lie on your tummy. I thought I was going to enjoy this massage a lot more than the last one I had.

After all was said and done, I felt light and happy. The massage had been great. I was ebullient and ready to see Joe. When I met Debbie back in the lobby of the spa, she gave me sort of a sad look and said, "I have bad news. The boys are going to be a little later than they thought. Their new ETA is 2 p.m., so let's go grab lunch and see what happens then."

I was dying for barbeque, so Debbie's sister suggested a place and we went to chow down. Afterwards, I was sleepy and content. We went back to the hotel and hung out in the Morgan's room. I climbed onto the extra bed and curled up with a pillow while Debbie and Theresa visited more.

I must have been asleep for a while when I heard Joe's voice. "Stephanie. Come on, Sweetie. Wake up."

He was sitting on the bed next to me, Tom, and Theresa were sitting in the chairs at the small table in the room and Debbie was crashed on her and Tom's bed. I stretched and smiled at him. He wasn't smiling. Tom wasn't smiling either. They must not have had a very good day. I glanced at the clock. It was 6:15 p.m. Obviously, their day had stretched out to be much longer than anyone anticipated.

Tom stood, and sort of clapped his hands together. He tried to lighten Joe's mood a bit by saying, "Let's go out to eat. I'll take you guys wherever you want to go. Whatcha' say?"

Joe didn't even respond. He just gave him a pretty dark look and then looked at me and said, "Let's go." Joe was not a happy camper. He had obviously already spent way too much time working with Tom today and didn't intend to spend anymore with him.

"I had a nice time," I stammered at Debbie and Theresa. "Enjoy your evening." Joe had already pulled me toward the door and was waiting for me in the hotel hallway, with his hands on his hips and his jaw clenched tightly as he stared at the floor.

His strides were long and determined as he made for the car. "Joe?" I asked, grabbing his hand, "You okay?"

He swallowed hard. "Yeah. Just pissed. Today was a total fucking waste of time." We'd reached the car and he kicked the front tire hard and said, "CRAP! I hate this! I hate this job that keeps me away from you! I hate this stupid case! DAMN! Why did I ever get in the middle of this! Shit." He sounded defeated now more than angry. He closed his eyes and rested his head on his hand at the top of the car window. A couple of deep breaths later he said, "Get in. Let's get something to eat and I'll shake this off. Sorry." He was shaking his head as he pulled out of the parking lot.

I stayed quiet, knowing that there was nothing I could say to make the situation better. We stopped at a drive in for fried chicken and took it back to the room to eat. Neither of us said anything all the way there. Joe flopped on the couch and turned on a game to have some noise. I could see he was thinking. He didn't get this way very often, but I knew it was best to just let him go for a while until he got it out of his system.

I hoped it was soon. I had a noon flight to catch tomorrow and his was shortly afterwards. I didn't want to spend my last evening with Joe watching him brood in front of the television.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

After staring at the television for a few more minutes, Joe stood up and looked at me. He said, "Okay, Cupcake, I'm going to go take a shower and shake this mood off. When I come back, we can catch up on your day and I'll be a lot better." He bent to kiss me and I attacked his mouth with a fervency I hoped would get his attention. I think it did. Before straightening back up, he put one hand on my cheek. He looked at me like he was studying my face. He walked to the table and cleaned up the sacks and debris from our meal. He gave a sigh that sounded like half whine and half growl and then went into the bathroom.

I was feeling forlorn. What could have gone so wrong today? Did Green recant his story? Morgan hadn't seemed nearly as frustrated as Joe, so I didn't think it was that dramatic. It had to be something more personal than that – like something that would add to the length of time he would need to be away from me. While thinking about it, I realized I needed to check in with my mother. She had been really nervous about my coming on the trip and I had promised her I would call frequently. I walked to my purse and looked for my cellphone. It wasn't in my purse. Ah ha! Joe must have taken it into the bathroom. I grinned to myself and thought 'that dirty sneak.' I grabbed my coat and shrugged into it as I headed out the door to go around to the bathroom window to reprise my role as eavesdropper extraordinaire.

I didn't see the man at first. I was focused on picking my way around the house in the snow without falling on my butt. I walked directly into him before realizing he was even there. In the split second I saw his face, he appeared to be as surprised as I was. The next thing I knew, I was wrapped tightly in a sheet. It was dropped over my head and was acting as a blindfold so I couldn't see anything. I quickly became disoriented. I could hear myself screaming for help but soon something was tied around my mouth over the sheet so I couldn't speak. The guy was quick and I felt the second handcuff pop into place before I even felt the first one. In my mind I was whining…. _Why can everyone else use handcuffs and make it look so easy? I never get anyone handcuffed that easily!_

I remembered a couple of things – Joe had done a program for my niece Angie's class at school about stranger danger and he had told the kids that if someone tried to abduct them that they should use 100 of their strength and ability to keep the perpetrator from getting them into a car because if they were taken to a second location, their chance of escape and survival dropped by more than half.

I also remembered in the movie Miss Congeniality, Sandra Bullock did a little self defense course and said that you should go for the guys instep, his nose and his knees. Or was it his instep, his eyes and his nuts? Ooh – I should have watched the movie instead of making out with Joe!

Whoever had me was pulling me but I was disoriented and I wasn't sure which direction we were going. I couldn't see anything because of the sheet and I was really scared, of course. In the past I would have been pissed but now that I had to worry about Joe Jr., I had to admit that his safety was even more important than mine. The baby was awake and moving around a lot, reminding me that we were in this predicament together and it was my job to protect him.

I needed to guess the orientation of the man's body based on my instincts. I tried stomping on his feet. Afterall, my hands were cuffed behind me and my feet were my only real defense. I missed his feet but almost ended up falling on my butt with my attempts. I decided to try to head butt him in the nose. I realized he was a lot shorter than I expected, when I felt his nose through the sheet when it made contact with mine. I'm such a doofus. I just basically kissed the jerk. I did it hard, at least. Maybe I at least jarred his teeth a litte. He couldn't have enjoyed it.

I tried again. I don't know what I hit, but it wasn't him. I knocked myself silly. I was dizzy and seeing stars. "What is wrong with you?" He hissed. "Stop it. You are going to hurt yourself." He pushed me backward and the back of my head clunked against something metal. "Sorry." He said. My kidnapper is apologizing to me?

He pushed my legs and the next thing I heard was the car door shutting. Damn. I'm not doing very well. Okay, well, I've been abducted before. I can do this. There are only a couple of differences this time…… Well, several…... Okay, a bunch……. First, I don't know who has me or the first reason why. I'm pregnant and worried about the baby. I'm not in an area with which I'm familiar. I don't have anyone here I can call even if I get away – I don't know any phone numbers…I guess I could call 911. What would I say – 'um, some guy, don't know who, has me somewhere, don't know where, for reasons unknown to me….'

This isn't my fault. This is Joe's fault. I don't know why, but it is. If he hadn't been so damn secretive about it all, I may at least know who has me. Oh, crap! If this is the guy that killed Jeri Stapleton, he could kill me. Why would he? I don't know much about the case. What the heck is going on?

I don't know how long we drove. Or what direction we went. Or what type of car we were in. Or anything. All I know is that the guy (it is a man) is about my height. His voice was sort of … non-descript. Great.

I was slobbering all over the sheet that was in my mouth under the gag. This is gross. I wanted to cry. 'Okay, Stephanie,' I said to myself. 'You have to get a grip. In the past, you would have been mad. At the kidnapper, not at Joe. It's silly to be mad at Joe. He's probably still in the shower. Get to work, here. You need to get this situation under control.' By the time the car stopped and I heard it turn off, I was, indeed, very angry. I shouted, "Listen, you piece of shit. You need to let me go right NOW!" Of course, I was gagged, so it came out as "rrrrr rr r r r rrrr r r r rrrr r r rr r RRRR!"

The guy got out and shut his door. He was gone for a few minutes before my door opened. "Okay, now, be careful. Don't hit your head again." He helped me stand up. I was pretty disoriented and a little dizzy since I couldn't see anything. I was glad I had my coat on. It was really cold outside. "We're going to walk over here just a little ways – there's a step up right there." He was guiding me along. I didn't want to fall down – but I sure as heck didn't want to go wherever he was taking me, either so I was moving pretty slowly. "Come on, don't take all day. It's not far now." I felt carpet under one of my feet. Uh oh, I thought. What's going on?

Joe has to know I'm missing by now. He'll come find me. How? Hopefully he knows who has me….think, Stephanie. "Okay, now, here's a chair you can sit in." Okay, well at least he's sort of a nice sounding kidnapper.

"I'm going to cut the sheet off from around your face now. I would take it off completely but I'd have to take off the gag to do that and I can tell you are not one to be quiet." He said in a nice, calm voice. I could feel him snipping at the sheet with a pair of small scissors. He started at my nose and worked his way around the back of my head. "Now, be still, or I'll cut your hair by accident – don't want to do that. I know how you girls are about your hair." Who is this guy? Other than the fact that he kidnapped me, he's been pretty darned nice.

When he got around to the the front of my face again, he flipped the sheet down so that I could see. "Ooh. Gross. This sheet is all wet. Can't you control yourself Stephanie? Yuck." I took a minute to focus my eyes. It was the guy from my backyard. That doesn't tell me much. I still didn't know who he really was or why he had captured me.

He sat down on the bed across from me. We were in a hotel room of some sort. There was a TV on a dresser, two full beds, an arm chair, in which I was sitting, and a bathroom. There wasn't even a telephone in the room that I could see. The guy was assessing me with grey eyes. He was short, sort of chubby, balding, and…. boring looking. There was nothing spectacular about him. He was chewing on his lip like he was trying to decide what to say but coming up with nothing.

"rrr rrr r rrr rr rr rrrr," I grunted.

He sort of furrowed his brow and looked at me. He appeared to be unarmed. I looked around the room and didn't even see a suitcase. "I can't trust you and take off the gag, and I can't uncuff you. I don't know how to communicate with you. I'll think about it." He flicked the TV on using the remote control that was bolted to the night table between the two beds. Is there a guy in the world who can think without the freaking TV on?

I stood up and walked over to where he was sitting on the edge of the bed and I kicked him in the shin.

"Ow! Now, you had no reason to do that, whatsoever. I've been as nice as I know how to be. That was just mean. I don't want to have to tie you to the chair. That seems sort of rude to do to a pregnant lady, but really, you need to watch your manners. I didn't even intend to kidnap you, but you just sort of took me offguard by barreling out of the hotel room like that." He was gripping his shin where I had made contact and his little round face was getting all red. I needed to be able to communicate with him in order to get this show on the road. I didn't feel threatened at all anymore. I was really just ticked off and I needed to use the restroom. I finally walked over there to the small bathroom, motioned to it with my head and said, "rrr rrr rrrrr rr."

"Oh, okay. Go ahead." This nutless wonder was obviously not thinking. My hands were cuffed. I turned around and flapped them at him and jumped up and down a little with my feet crossed at the ankles. I wasn't that desperate yet but he didn't need to know that.

He paused, sort of tipping his head from side to side like Bob does when he hears something that I can't. "Oh, your hands. Well, I can't let your hands go. You might do something you shouldn't."

I tried to look desperate. I couldn't go to the bathroom with my hands cuffed. I had another of the funny little maternity body suits on under my dress. I had to be able to unhook and hook the crotch and that was a full contact event, as Joe had learned the previous evening. "rrr rrrrrrr rr." I opened my eyes as widely as possible, trying to convey the seriousness of this situation.

"Well," he said, looking very wary, "okay, but if you so much as touch your gag, I won't let you out of the cuffs again. If you are a good girl, however, I'll leave the cuffs off. By the way, I'm taping the latch so that you can't lock me out. I just thought you should know. We need to be able to trust each other here, so I'm taking the cuffs off."

"rrrrr rrr." I said, which meant 'Thank you'. He seemed to understand. I went into the restroom and did what I needed to do. As I was trying to hook my little body suit again, however, I felt a lump in the pocket of my coat. It was my cell phone! I'd stuck it in my pocket instead of putting it back in my purse. I couldn't use it now. He'd hear me. I did a little silent dance. Hallelujah, I have it! If it rang, I'd be in trouble. I quietly pressed the buttons to turn it off. I slipped it back in my pocket. I was hot wearing the coat, and the sheet, but at least my hands were free and I had my phone. There was no way I was taking my coat off now that I knew the phone was in it.

I assessed myself in the mirror. I looked like a pregnant lady dressed in a sheet to be a pregnant ghost for Halloween. My hair was awful. I looked HUGE but part of that was the coat.

I washed up and re-entered the room with the guy. I smiled as well as possible with a gag in my mouth and silently returned to my chair. I folded my hands in my lap to show that I was going to be cooperative. I needed time to think. How would I get him out of the room for a few minutes so I could call someone? Who the heck would I call? Who do I always call when I'm in trouble? Since Joe and I got engaged, I started calling him, but there's no way to call him – he doesn't have a phone and I don't know the number of the Bed and Breakfast. So, I would fall back to my old standby, Ranger. Ranger would figure out how to find Joe and Joe and Ranger would find me. Even though I have no idea who this guy is, Joe will know. I'm sure this will be fine.

Of course, if I still have this stupid gag in my mouth, he won't understand me. Not that I would have much to tell him anyway. I sighed. The sigh attracted the attention of my captor.

I tried to look innocent. I pointed at the gag. I put my hands together in a praying position and then used my right index finger to 'cross my heart'. Back to the praying position…

"So, you want me to take off the gag?" My guy was struggling with his better judgement. "Will you be quiet?"

"RRU-HURH" I answered enthusiastically.

"Okay, but one little holler will get you gagged again." He walked over and pulled at the gag, which came off easily. My jaw ached. It had been open and immobilized for what seemed like forever. I worked it open and shut a bunch of times before I tested my voice.

"Thank you," was all I managed. I sat quietly trying to figure out what to say next. He was still watching TV and eventually I said, "Um, if you don't mind my asking, why are we here? I mean, why did you grab me and bring me here? I don't even know who you are."

"You don't need to know who I am. Unfortunately, you are here because I sort of panicked. I didn't go to that Bed and Breakfast to grab you. You just came out while I was walking around to the back of my car to put some things in the trunk – including that sheet. I need your husband to cooperate with me. I don't know how to get that cooperation but maybe having you here will help. Doubtful, but maybe." He slunked down further on the bed and seemed to disappear into the silly sitcom he found on the TV.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

I sat in the chair and stared at my unlikely captor for about 10 minutes. That is about the length of my attention span. Ask anybody. He didn't look like a kidnapper. He was really plain – just unremarkable. His eyes were tired with big bags underneath. He looked about 50 or so, but I imagine he's a little younger than that.

Finally, I said, "Sir…um, hey…, hi there. Uh, can we talk? I mean, I'm on a sort of a schedule here. Maybe we can figure all this out soon and we can get this all straightened out. I mean, I have to go back home tomorrow. I have a doctor's appointment, you know, for this?" I pointed at my bulging tummy. "I don't plan on being pregnant for a whole lot longer, and I'll bet you aren't planning to keep me very long, right – otherwise, you know, we might need a bigger room – you know, one with a nursery?" I was smiling. I know I must have sounded like an idiot, but I knew I needed to get this show on the road. This was my last chance to see Joe before the baby came and we had not at ALL done everything I had planned to do before giving birth. I mean, I still had plans – you know. Not all sexual plans…Okay, mostly sexual plans – but not ALL sexual plans. We still needed to talk about the actual event – the baby coming. I needed to tell him what he would need to know for the big delivery day. I don't think I know what he needs to know, but he definitely needs to know some things that day.

"Can I take off this sheet?" Now that the gag was gone, it was just sort of hanging around my neck and it was all wet.

"Oh, sure. I'm sorry." He stood and came to help me out of the sheet. "I forgot about it. Oh, wow, you've grown – I mean the baby's grown since I saw you last."

"When did you see me last?" I asked.

"Oh, a couple of weeks ago, I guess. You were getting home and I was waiting in your backyard." He was fiddling with his hands and looking down, like he was embarrassed.

"Why have you been watching me?" I asked.

"Well, I need to find Morelli. I've met him a few times and never liked him, but then I thought he was a pretty good guy when I saw him at your wedding. He seemed to really be in love with you. Then when I heard he had left, you know, I couldn't believe he had really ditched you. So, I thought if I watched you, I could figure out where he was, maybe."

"You were at our wedding?" I was more than surprised. I was shocked. I'm sure my eyes were bulging out of my head. I swear I didn't remember this guy from that day. There were a lot of people there, of course.

"Well, I was there, sort of. I mean, not really as a guest. I crashed. I was looking for someone." He wouldn't make eye contact with me. "Okay, I watched from the neighbor's tree."

"Why? Who the heck were you looking for? There were like 250 people there. That's like everyone I've ever met in my life plus 100 people."

He just looked so sad. The poor guy looked like his heart was breaking. He drew in a deep, shaky breath. "I need some more time to think. I don't know how much I should tell you. It's hard for me to talk about it."

"Oh, okay," I said carefully, "you know, since you kidnapped me, you have to let Joe know you have me. That's the rule. You can't hold me without telling him you have me. It's … illegal."

He stared at me for a minute. "DO YOU THINK I'M STUPID OR SOMETHING? I KNOW I HAVE TO LET HIM KNOW. I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT TO TELL HIM. QUIT PRESSURING ME!" He didn't say it loudly – more like very deliberately.

"Okay, Okay, don't get all upset. You know, if you'd tell me what this is all about, I may be able to help you figure it out. I'm pretty good at solving problems," and maybe if I can get the guy talking I can get out of here faster.

"I don't know where to start. See, well, I have a couple of things I need Joe's help with, but when we see each other we always fight."

"Oh, I see. Well, what do you fight about? Joe's usually pretty reasonable, so he must have a reason to be upset with you."

"Yeah. I mean, I've had some run-ins with the law. I'm not a bad person; I'm just sort of susceptible to negative influences. That's what my parole officer says, anyway. I guess that's where Joe and I go our different ways. He thinks I should be in jail, and I disagree," he still was hanging his head and looking very pitiful.

"Maybe if we just talk to Joe, you know, I'll arrange a meeting and then we can all sit down and talk." And then he can arrest you for kidnapping me and then he and I can go on with our lives.

"Oh, I don't think that will work, especially not now that I grabbed you and brought you here. He'll make a big deal out of it and try to make it sound all sinister and everything. I don't know why he hates me so much."

I chose not to comment, but I did feel sorry for the guy.

He looked at me and said, "Did you get anything to eat? Are you hungry? I am."

"Yeah, I'm hungry, too. I need to eat." I didn't tell him that we'd just eaten before he picked me up. I glanced at his watch and saw that it was 9:15 p.m. He was blowing my last evening with Joe.

He said, "Okay, here's what I'm going to do. I'll let you stay here so that I don't have to go through the blindfold thing again, but I'm going to handcuff you to the bed so you can't go anywhere. I'm also going to put the gag back on you so you can't yell and get any attention while I'm out."

"Can't we just go on the honor system? I won't yell. Promise."

"I don't know you well enough to go on the honor system. We'll do it my way now and if you prove yourself trustworthy, we'll try it your way tomorrow." Little did he know that I didn't intend to be here tomorrow.

He cuffed and gagged me before leaving to get food. I went right to work. Luckily, he cuffed me in front of my body. I could get my phone out of my pocket, but I couldn't get the gag untied. Try as I might, it was useless. I pulled, twisted, and cursed into the gag.

I sat there for a few minutes trying to figure out what else to do. I heard a car drive up outside so I hastily, returned the cell phone to my pocket.

"Okay, I brought you a salad with light dressing. That's what my wife would have wanted. My wife, you know, she loves Morelli. I mean she literally 'loves' Morelli. She says, 'Joey's Magic'." He quoted her in a silly falsetto while waving his hands. He took off the gag, not noticing that it wasn't tied the same way he'd done it. "It's disgusting. I need to know what the hell is so magic about him. What do you think it is?"

He was looking at me like he really expected me to answer. "Huh?" That was my intelligent response.

He unlocked the handcuffs, removed the gag easily, much to my disgust, and motioned for me to move back over to the little table and chairs. I detest salad. Who would eat that for dinner? Since it was my second dinner I thought I could push it around a little and he wouldn't notice. Light dressing – why bother? "How does your wife know Joe?"

"Oh." He sighed loudly. "I guess I'm going to have to tell you who I am so that you can help me think this through. I really don't know what the heck to do. I'm Lou Gilman, Terri's husband." He had ducked his head and said this in a very shaky voice. When he looked up at me, I could see that his eyes were wet. "You know, she still loves him. She left me. I think he knows where she is."

"Omigod. You are Terri's husband? Um, ex-husband, right?"

He looked so hurt. "Yeah, I guess. I didn't want a divorce. We need to work it out. We're made for each other. She just doesn't see it and I have to find her so I can convince her to come home." He looked at me hopefully. "Hey, do you know where she is?"

Not at the moment. She's probably boinking Ranger somewhere right now – with one of them undoubtedly in restraints. "No, I don't. But, you are right. I'm sure Joe does. He can help us find her. I'm sure he'd be happy to talk to you."

"I don't think so. The last time he saw me, I'd moved back in with her and he arrested me. He doesn't think I'm the right guy for her either. It's like everyone is against me."

"No, I'm sure that's not it. Joe just needs time to get to know you. You know? Let's contact him and I'll bet he'll know just what to do."

"Let me sleep on it." Lou had finished eating and was standing up and stretching, like he was ready to go to bed.

"No. We can't do that. I can't stay here with you. I'm a married woman." I had figured out that he wasn't the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, so maybe I could hurry him along this way. "I can't stay here with you. Terri and Joe would both be furious, you know. We can't stay here together. I'm married and you are spoken for. How can you convince Terri that you are serious about getting her back if you are spending the night in a room with another woman?"

His brows were furrowed. He was thinking. I could almost hear the gears turning. "Well, I got two beds. Doesn't that make a difference?"

"Nope. Joe would not understand. If the tables were turned, how would you feel if you thought Terri and Joe were sharing a room?" Heh, heh, heh, little do you know…

"Yeah. You're right. Well, what, do I need to get you your own room?"

"No, let's just move this forward a bit. Let's go back out to the Bed and Breakfast, and talk to Joe tonight. He'll help you and then you can go do whatever it is you need to do." Like meet your new roommate, Bruno.

"I don't know. It's pretty late. He may be mad."

"No, he's a late kind of guy. He won't be mad. Let's just call out there and we'll make sure he's up. There's no phone here. Do you have a cell phone?" I asked. I was speaking really fast, thinking I could get this moving before Lou figured out it wasn't a good idea.

"No. There's a payphone in the motel office. Will you call him? He won't be mad at you, right?"

"Right," and he can have the authorities waiting to pick you up that way, too. I purposefully stood up and strode for the door of the room. The air outside was frigid and snow was falling in crisp tiny flakes.

Lou had to jog a bit to keep up with me as I nearly sprinted for the office. I turned my head around to see how far away from me he was and, of course, slipped on the ice. I didn't fall, but it was close. Lou grabbed me under the arms and held on. "Be careful, Stephanie. I don't want you to get hurt. God forbid something happen to the baby. I love babies. I can't wait to start a family. Terri will be a great mom." Poor Lou was just beaming thinking about Terri being a mom. I wanted to throw up. I felt sorry for him, and I definitely worried about his mental health. Terri would be the worst mom I could imagine – next to me… I was changing my mind about what I wanted to happen to Lou. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy.

We found a telephone book in the office and I tried to call the Bed and Breakfast. Becky, the cheerful proprietor informed me that Joe wasn't there. I hadn't told her who I was because I didn't want to worry her if she knew I'd been kidnapped. I didn't know what to do. I hung up and decided to try my next move.

"Uh, Lou, Joe and I have some friends here in town. I'll bet he's there talking to them. Let me get the number." I looked up the number for the Bernadine hotel where the Morgan's were staying. If I could find them, maybe I could get my point across.

Debbie answered the phone. "Debbie! This is Stephanie Morelli!"

I heard her practically scream for Joe. He must be there with them. She told him it was me. He sounded focused and cautious when he took the phone. "Cupcake?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine. I'm here with Lou Gilman. We want to try to find Joe. Lou's looking for Terri and Joe may know where she is. Is Joe there, Debbie?"

"Okay, Cupcake, you need to know that Lou Gilman has some mental issues. He's normally not dangerous, but he doesn't handle reality all that well."

For some reason, this statement ticked me off. "No shit. Um, I mean, really….hmmm. Well, Lou really wants to talk to Joe. Do you think we should come to the Bernadine to do that?" Lou was looking at me hopefully.

Joe paused, "Yeah. There's a big parking lot around back. We can set up some posts so that we can apprehend him there. Stall for about 15 minutes. We can be ready after that. Tell him to pull around to the back lot and park in the middle. I'll come out of the building. You tell him to stay in the car while you set things up with me. After we get you safely tucked away, we can storm the vehicle."

"No. That's too much." I felt so sorry for poor Lou. He was all excited and was hoping Joe would help him get his wife back so they could start a family. He loved babies, you know.

"What do you mean 'too much'?" Joe knew Lou was listening. He knew I couldn't say much without tipping him off. "Are you saying he's got you booby trapped or something? Will you not be safe if we do it that way?" I could hear panic creeping into his voice. He was remembering when a whacko had strapped a bomb to my body.

"No, that's not it. Everything is fine. I just want to keep it simple." I shot Lou a reassuring smile. "You know, it just shouldn't be a big deal. Just Joe is fine. We don't need anyone else there." I covered up the phone and said to Lou, "Our friends wanted to know if they could help, too."

"Oh, that's nice of them. Do they know Terri?" I shook my head.

I went back to talking to 'Debbie' on the phone, "Anyway, we'll come to the hotel in a few minutes and we'll pull around to the back, where you said Joe would be, by himself."

Joe was gritting his teeth. "Cupcake, has that whacko convinced you that we shouldn't jail him for kidnapping you? Is that what you are trying to say?"

"All he wants is information. Information isn't a big deal. Let's not make it a big deal."

"Cupcake, would it change your mind if I told you that I think he killed Jeri Stephenson? He's not harmless. I don't want you around him a minute longer than you have to be."

"Okay, perfect. Let's go with the first plan," I said cheerfully and hung up the phone.

"Okay, Lou, it's all set. Joe told Debbie he'd be happy to talk to you. See, he's not upset or mad at you. You underestimated him. Let's go back to the room for a few minutes so I can 'freshen up' a little and then we can go to the hotel." Lou looked relieved.

"Thank you so much, Stephanie." With those words Lou flung his arms around me and kissed me on the cheek. He pulled me in close for a hug. I took the opportunity to pat him down a little. I couldn't feel a gun on him. I still felt guilty for ambushing him, but if he killed Jeri, I had to let it happen.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

I stalled in the bathroom of the motel for a few minutes and then told Lou I was ready to leave. Since I'd been unable to see anything when we drove here, I was unsure where we were or even what type of car we'd been in. Lou led me to his rental car – it was clearly a rental because the rental agreement was lying on the front seat. The name on the rental agreement was 'Federico'. I was trying to decide whether Lou had rented the car under a false name or if the Federico family had discovered their rental car stolen. When Lou turned onto a main street, I could see the Bernadine Hotel in the distance ahead of us.

My stomach clenched when we pulled into the parking lot. I hate doing things like this. More than my safety was at stake. There was the baby to think about, and Joe and even Lou. I said, "Joe said for us to pull around to the back lot. That's closer to our friends' hotel room." Lou obediently pulled around to the back. I saw no police cars, but I did notice an unusual number of people sitting in their cars in the lot and presumed they were officers stationed here for the takedown.

Joe was leaned against a tree, hipshot with his long legs crossed at the ankle. I knew he had a gun under his jacket. His face looked hard and dark. "There's Joe!" I said with appropriate love and excitement in my voice. I looked at Lou. "I'm going to go tell him 'hi' and then he'll come meet you in the car. Um, it was nice to meet you." Thinking my mother would be proud of me for remembering my manners, I turned to leave. For the first time, I noticed there was no handle on the inside of my door. I couldn't get out.

When I turned back to look at Lou, his face was transformed. His features had sharpened and he had a handgun pointed at me. "I don't want to hurt you, so don't do anything stupid, Stephanie." Joe was watching the car cautiously and he knew something was wrong when I didn't get out. He reached up and dragged his fingers through his hair. I realized this was to cover up the fact that he was talking into the communication wire he must be wearing. I made eye contact with Debbie Morgan. She was standing in the window of their 4th floor room and watching the scene unfold. I'm sure the Morgan's room was the command center and she would have heard Joe's report. She had her hands folded in what I sincerely hoped was a prayerful stance. We needed all the help we could get.

"Lou? What are you doing? You pointing a gun at me isn't going to make Joe very happy. You need to be able to talk to him and he's not going to be very cooperative if he's mad, you know. He may not give you the information you want."

"Shut up, Stephanie. I'm going to tell you how this is going to go. I need to get Joe in the car - unarmed. When I have him, you can go. He's getting a little too close to some very sensitive information about me and I can't let him get the rest of the way there or it could be bad news. Besides, I won't ever get Terri back if he's still alive and kicking. She's in love with him, remember?"

"I thought you just wanted to know where she was. Were you trying to trick me?" Rage was boiling inside me. At the same time, I was terrified for Joe. I couldn't let Lou freakin' Gilman kill Joe. His ex-wife already shot him in the ass once, for goodness sakes. "If you think you are going to get away with this, Mister," I said, shaking my finger in his face and raising my trembling voice, "you are sadly mistaken." I realized just as the last words parted from my lips that I'd morphed into my mother. While I admire my mother for many things, I wish I could have morphed into Wonder Woman instead. I didn't think we needed a pineapple upside down cake at this moment, but I could have used the ability to deflect bullets and a bit of super-human strength.

During this exchange, I'd backed all the way against the passenger side door and had pulled my legs up between us – I guess it was my way of putting something between the baby and Lou for protection. I had started to sniffle and was fighting tears when I saw Morgan standing at the back corner of the parking lot. I couldn't see Joe from this position. I wasn't sure how Lou would react to tears, but I decided to just let hormonal rage work for me instead. Just when he started to open his mouth to give me instruction, I lost it.

My right foot made a hard direct score to his jaw. I felt more than heard his teeth snap together sharply. He was stunned enough that I then was able to just reach across and take the gun from his hand. I apparently had snapped his jaw shut on his tongue or his lip or something and he was briefly incapacitated and muttering indiscernible words. I couldn't exactly cover the baby's ears, but I think if Lou had been able to speak clearly, I would have needed to.

Seeing the exchange, Joe was at my door in a flash and Morgan was at Lou's. There were about 10 other guys encircling the vehicle, too. I had the gun, but still couldn't get out of the car. The doors were locked and I had no door handle. When Lou regained control of his senses, I saw his eyes widen as he noticed all the guns trained directly on him. "Open the door, Gilman," Morgan growled. Lou just sat in stunned silence. He didn't make a move. I wanted to turn around and look at Joe, but I could feel him silently willing me to pay attention and keep my eyes and the gun on Lou.

"What happened?" Lou asked, with a wide-eyed innocence, like he had worn earlier while convincing me he was the harmless kidnapper.

"Forget it, Bud. You lost your chance. Open the door and face the music." Maybe I am Wonder Woman after all. He clicked the locks open and I felt Joe open my door from the outside and then pull me backwards until I was out of the vehicle. As other officers moved into place to close the gap in the circle Joe's absence would create, he scooped me up in his arms and carried me deliberately toward the hotel with long strides. "You can put the gun down, Cupcake, I've got you." I held the gun steady, however, all the way inside. He took it from me gently after nestling me into a chair in the inside hallway. Debbie Morgan was there waiting as well.

Joe knelt in front of me and looked me in the face for the first time. "You okay?"

I don't know how long I'd been holding my breath, but it all came out in a big whoosh. A couple of deep breaths later, I managed, "Yeah. I'm fine. I can't believe I got the gun away from him like that. I didn't even plan it really. He just really pissed me off."

Joe smiled, "Remind me not to do that."

Debbie Morgan spoke for the first time. "Stephanie, there's an agent upstairs that needs to take a statement from you when you feel like you can."

"Go with Debbie, Cupcake. I'll be there as soon as I can. I need to try to get some answers from Gilman while he's in the mood to talk." Joe leaned in and pressed his forehead against mine for a minute or two. His hands were on my knees and I could feel him shaking all over. He gave me a quick kiss. I knew from experience that the adrenaline rush would wear off from both of us soon and we would probably collapse after that.

"Don't be gone long okay, Joe? I need you." I don't usually express feelings like that, but I had to tonight. I do need him. I need him bad.

He straightened, took a deep breath, squared his shoulders and walked back outside where I could see them loading Gilman in a squad car.

I let Debbie lead me to the elevator and then to her room where I gave a statement. I couldn't decide if Lou Gilman was crazy or calculating. Either way, I was exhausted. I resumed my position on the extra bed in the Morgan's room and Debbie thoughtfully covered me with a blanket. She continued to tell me how worried Joe had been and how she admired the way he handled himself when making plans for the take-down. She turned the TV on to a late-night talk show rerun and we both quieted down and dozed.

Joe and Morgan returned around 1:15 a.m. When he woke me, Joe looked tired but somehow relaxed. He helped me with my coat and told the Morgan's goodnight. We drove in silence to the Bed and Breakfast. "We're going to stay a couple more days, Cupcake. Your Mom says they'll take care of Rex and Bob. We'll change your flight tomorrow. "

I was so relieved. I wasn't ready to say goodbye yet, especially after tonight. Once safely inside our cottage, Joe helped me out of my clothes, with no apparent lascivious intent, and put me to bed nude. He took off his own clothes and climbed in next to me. It was dark and warm and we were skin to skin from head to toe. "Stephanie, I was terrified tonight. I can't tell you how scared I was when I realized you were gone." His voice was husky with fatigue. He was holding me tightly.

"I'm okay. I promise. Did you learn anything from Gilman?"

Joe sighed, he didn't want to talk about it tonight but he knew I probably wouldn't drop it until he did. "Yeah. He was happy to talk once he realized he was in custody and I wasn't going to take him out in the woods and beat him to death." I sort of giggled about that statement.

"What did he say about Jeri Stephenson's death?" I propped up on my elbow so I could see Joe's handsome features in the moonlight.

"He started with some line about how it was an accident, and then switched to saying he didn't know anything about it. Stupid. He finally confessed but indicated that Grizolli ordered the hit and he was just following orders. I know that isn't true. We've confirmed too many facts about the operation now. The Genieve family was in charge at that time. If anyone ordered a hit, it was them. Apparently, back then Grizolli was lending money and muscle to the joint venture but didn't have much pull in the overall scheme of things. We're going to give him overnight to think about it. Morgan told him to consider his options and tomorrow if he doesn't tell the truth he's going to give me an hour alone with him off premises. I think he knows that wouldn't be a pleasant experience." Joe looked me in the eyes at this point. He pulled my face down to his for a kiss and then said, "Cupcake, let's get some sleep. I'm dead." He didn't have to ask me twice.

I slept great until Joe Jr. started doing a tap dance on my bladder at dawn. I slipped quietly into the bathroom, hoping not to disturb Joe. I tried to convince myself that yesterday had all been a dream. I snuggled back into Joe's warm body and fell back into a sound sleep.

When I woke again, Joe had shifted his body and was lying on his back, with his head wedged between my breast and my baby bulge. He had his arm flung up over his head and curled around my tummy, protecting the baby, it seemed. He was whispering to the little guy. "I was so scared something was going to happen to you or your mom. Usually it is her job that gets her in these scrapes. I can't believe this happened. I'm telling you, it was really dumb of your old man to take on this assignment. I will never do something like this again. I promise. You and your mom are too important to me to do it. It's bad enough that I'm a cop and that means there's always a chance something could happen to me. Your mom's job is dangerous, too. Crap. What if something had happened to her?" Joe's voice was a little tremulous. He doesn't get emotional over much, but my safety, and now that of the baby could do it in a heartbeat.

"I was just six when my dad died. That's okay. He wasn't a very good guy. I want to be a good dad to you. I want to teach you stuff. You know, how to be a good person. My dad, well, he wasn't a good person, really, and he was a lousy dad and an even worse husband. I haven't been a great husband. I left your mom and you all alone after just two months. I'm going to be a better husband and I'm going to try to be a good dad, too."

I wanted to stop him from beating himself up, but I knew he needed to process – to just talk to Joe Jr., so I just stayed quiet.

"There's stuff you need to know to get by in life. Things like how to catch a fly ball and throw a football are important, but they don't make the man. You'll learn that stuff, too, but you need to know how to treat people with respect and dignity. Especially women. Your grandma, she is a tough old broad. She raised me on her own and she taught me a lot of stuff about how to read people. Women are different, Buddy. I mean it's like they are from a different universe. I don't mean just their bodies, but those are different, too, you know? Not bad different either. Good different. Girls have this hinge at their waist that guys don't have. That's why they can wiggle their butts like that and totally erase your brain. You have to learn look beyond that, though, once you can. I just want to be there for you to talk to when it's time.

"It's okay to have your brain erased once in a while when you are young, but you have to learn to control it. It's harder for some of us to learn it, but you'll get there. Your mom, she can still blank me right out with just a look. I don't understand it. I've known her all my life, but she's the only one who ever made that kind of an impression on me. Of course, I didn't know she was the only one because almost any girl can make a temporary impression. The time wasn't ever right, you know? We just weren't meant to be together until the last few years. You'll know when it's right. Everyone always told me that, but I'm telling you, that butt wiggle thing can really get you off course sometimes."

I was trying so hard not to giggle at some of these comments.

"Girls are tricky. They don't say what they mean. They tell you to go away when they mean 'follow me' and they say they don't want anything when they want it all. You'll have to learn this on your own. I can tell you lots of things but you will still have to learn it on your own, just like the rest of us knuckleheads. There are a lot of mysteries surrounding them. They can take their bras off without taking their shirt off. What's up with that? You'll see.

"It's okay to be a horndog for a while. Just breathing makes guys horny. You will never learn what does it for girls. Green M&M's don't make girls horny. But you'll try it anyway. Girls don't like loud cars and guys yelling nasty comments at them, but you'll still do it. I don't know why guys are so stupid, but we all are.

"Women are not just grown up girls, either. They get more complicated the older they get. And they carry scars. When you find the right one, you will pay for the sins of that every guy she was with before you. She won't mean to make you but it'll happen anyway. Your mom, that idiot Dickie cheated on her and demeaned her. She doesn't trust me now because of him. She can't help it. She knows in her heart that I'd never do that to her, but she was hurt before and it haunts her. She just can't give in. She's got to be independent because she is afraid she'll have to be on her own again sometime. I think that's why she gets all mad and freaked out when I try to get her to quit her job. I just want her to be safe. I don't care if she works – she can work – she's really smart – she could do anything she wants to do, but she doesn't want anybody telling her what she can and can't do. I get that. I just want her safe. Last night was the first time my job ever put her in danger. She can usually find the lunatics all on her own." Joe chuckled.

I put my hand on his chest, just to let him know I was awake. He turned his head and smiled at me. "Morning, Cupcake. Sleep okay? Joey and me were just having our first father / son talk. He doesn't have many opinions, yet, does he? Maybe he'll talk a little more in a few years."

I just smiled, not wanting to trust my voice yet.

The next two days were wonderful. We talked, walked, and made love. And of course, we ate. We both love food. We found some great places to eat and had a fun time joking and planning the future. I was getting homesick for Bob and Rex and Joe was ready to get back to work and wrap up the case. Lou had come clean with Morgan so Joe hadn't even had to put in an appearance at the Police Station.

With Jeri's murder solved, the only part of the operation left open was the criminal activity linking organized crime with imported vehicles. That means I will be going home for Christmas all alone, but Joe should definitely be home in time for the baby to come.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

When Dunphy met me at the airport in Trenton, I felt light as a feather. Five days in Seattle had been marred by a kidnapping ordeal, but . . . you know, spending time with Joe was just what I needed to set the world back on the right track. He'd reminded me that our family was important and that I was important to him. Joe Jr. was coming to join us soon and I needed to be ready for him. I was already more than anxious for Joe to return home. I was so proud of him and the job he was doing. I'm sure it is the hormones, but every time I think about him ridding our society of the bad guys, I'm overcome.

Okay, yeah, it's the hormones. I rid our society of the bad guys, too. I'd read some of the files on the flight home from Seattle and thought I may be able to clear some of them up between Christmas (tomorrow) and New Years. Yes, I'd had Lou Gilman's file with me all the time and yes, I probably would have tried to bring him in all by myself given the information I'd had on him.

I talked Dunphy's ears off on the way from the airport to our house. I told him about Gilman's kidnapping me and his subsequent confession of Jeri Stephenson's murder. Lou had admitted killing her on Genieve's orders due to the fact that she was ready to break up with Tommy Takata and expose the operation to the Feds. At that time, it seems, the business at hand was to load imported cars with illegal drugs and a few guns. The merchandise was concealed in the panels and upholstery of the vehicles prior to import. Joe had said that Lou was an honest auto mechanic before he got mixed up in all the mess with the Grizolli and Genieve families. I was inclined to believe that. Lou had seemed so sincere and nice before we got to the hotel where he transformed. I clung to that idea to get around the fact that I had been in real danger.

Lou had admitted to breaking into Joe's and my house while I was in Detroit with him in October, again on the premise of finding Terri. I really do think the poor guy is head over heels with her. I can't wait to see Ranger and see if he survived his encounter with her sans medical care. I don't know whether I'm disappointed in him for showing poor taste, or proud of him for holding his own with her. I feel a little conflicted and more than a little ashamed to admit that I'm jealous, again, of her relationship with a guy I considered 'mine'. That's the way I've always been. Even if I didn't personally want a guy, I didn't necessarily want anyone else to have him either.

Dunphy delivered me safely home around 5:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve. I took the opportunity to ask him if he would do Joe and me the honor of being Joe Jr.'s Godfather. He was overwhelmed. I could tell. He couldn't even look me in the eye. Then he cleared his throat and said, "Friend, if this is your way of getting me to tell you my first name, God will punish you." With a shy smile, he walked slowly back to his car. I knew he was touched to be asked.

Joe and I had decided to ask Dunphy and Mary Lou to be Joe Jr.'s Godparents. Dunphy had done more than his share for us during Joe's assignment and Mary Lou was my oldest and best friend.

Per tradition, at the Morelli household of origin, the 'family' Christmas was to be held the first Saturday after the actual holiday. The logic for this was the old adage, "A daughter is a daughter for all her life and a son is a son 'til he takes a wife." Angie Morelli understood that her 3 sons would need to spend Christmas with their wives' families. This met the Burg standard and only left Joe's sister Kathy's family out in the cold on that day. See, Marc, Tony, and Joe would have been expected to spend the holiday at their inlaw's houses. Mary's husband is Jewish and Christmas…well, they didn't make much of a fuss about it – especially due to the fact that his kids would be with his first wife's family on that day, and they hadn't been blessed with their own. Therefore, I didn't have to put in an appearance on Christmas Day at Mama Morelli's house.

My own family was in rare form, of course, as usual. Try as she might to get me to spend Christmas Eve night with them, I was able to postpone actually seeing my mother and father and the rest of the crew until Christmas morning. The majority of my reticence came from the fact that I truly was exhausted and ready to be at home. My home. Our home. This would be my last quiet Christmas Eve. Next year, there would be Joe and a baby bustling around the house. In the several years after, Joe and Joe Jr. would be joined by our other children. Once the chaos turned into relative quiet in 20 years or so, grandchildren would join the chorus. This year, it was me, Bob, Rex (neither of whom were speaking to me after leaving them with Grandma for almost a week) and my thoughts of Joe.

He had, of course, gone back to Detroit to rejoin Terri and see how much damage had been done to the undercover case by the fact that he may have blown his cover in Seattle with Gilman.

Dunphy had teamed up with Mary Lou while I was gone and they had put up a small tree in our living room. The twinkling colored lights were reflected in the blown glass ornaments they had used. They had carefully written on them in gold marker things like "Our First Christmas", "Joe loves Stephanie", "Bob", "Rex", and "Go Mets" – Dunphy's contribution, I'm sure. Sometime during the evening, I fell asleep on the sofa, watching those lights twinkle, Bob curled around my feet. I was disoriented when the telephone rang. "I found it," I told Bob, who was rushing around the room in response to my own rushing around the room.

"Hello?" I croaked. I glanced at the clock. Midnight. It was Christmas now.

"Cupcake! Hey, Honey, I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas. I guess you got home okay." Joe. How sweet for him to call.

"Yeah, I'm great. How about you? Is everything okay there?" I was ashamed that I wanted him to say 'no'. I wanted his cover to have been blown and for him to tell me that he was headed home to me. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

"Yeah. News of Grizolli's bust has reached here, but for whatever reason, they either don't know or don't believe I was involved. They know that Gilman is a flake, so maybe they think he's insane when he says I brought him in."

I could hear the nice smile in Joe's voice. I was used to being around Joe again, and that voice made my spine tingle. Just when I was ready to tell him that I would have jumped him if he was here in person, he started talking again. "They really think I was jailed in Trenton. Tommy and Sara Takata actually feel sorry for me because Terri cheated on me with Ranger while I was gone. That's such a hoot. Tommy told me today that he hopes I use a condom when I'm with her because he really didn't like the looks of the creep she hung around with when I was gone." Joe was laughing like a fool.

Real funny, Buddy. "Ha Ha." I said, not convincingly.

"Well, I should go. I love you, Cupcake. I miss you. This is the only Christmas we'll ever spend apart. I promise." His voice was warm and comforting. I could hear Darth Greyder mewling in the background. Knowing Joe, he'd tucked him into his jacket and snuck him into the convenience store where he was calling from. "Hold the baby in there just a few more weeks and I'll be there with you when he comes. I love you. Bye." Before I could find my voice, he was gone.

The next morning came way too early for me and Joe Jr. We could have slept another 3 hours but I didn't want to have to explain being tardy for Mom's big Christmas Day festivities. Baby Lisa was cute, albeit loud, while the other girls fussed and ripped into every gift in the house. Valerie and Albert ooh'd and goo'd at each other until I was nervous they were going to clear the table and consummate their love right then and there.

Valerie and I got into another little 'tiff' about the fact that I was refusing to face facts and file for divorce even though Joe had been gone for 7 months. At some point, my Dad and Grandma Mazur stopped pouring the wine and actually just started passing the bottle back and forth between them and taking slugs straight from the bottle. In the midst of all the mayhem, Mom couldn't stop talking about how there would be another baby in the house next year. I was glad she was so thrilled about Joe Jr. It was comforting to me, although I was still a tiny bit terrified about the prospect of the entire matter.

Snuggled cozy in my own bed again that night, and I slept like a rock. December 26th was a Thursday that year. At 10 am, I was jarred from sleep by a ringing telephone. I looked at Bob. "We need to remember to just disconnect all the phones when we went to bed as they have a bad habit of waking us up at ungodly hours in the morning." He seemed unconvinced and maybe a little desperate to go outside. I followed him down the stairs, not heeding the call of the telephone. I figured the caller would either leave a message or give up – at this point I didn't care which.

I heard the machine pick up: "This is Stephanie – Sorry I can't answer the telephone right now. Please leave a message and I'll call you back……beep….."

I let Bob out the back door and listened for the message, but the caller had hung up. I heard my cell phone begin to play "Wasting away Again in Margaritaville". Joe had sent me that ring tone after our honeymoon. Unfortunately, I was downstairs. My cellphone was upstairs in the bedroom. Already winded from my long trip down the stairs, I really didn't want to try to run to catch it. Maybe they'd call the house again. Maybe they'd leave a telephone number where I could call them back. I was trying to morph into a full-blown night-person and I hoped to just crawl back into bed. I took the steps slowly. I think I took a nap on the landing half-way up. By the time I made it to the bathroom I'd darn near wet my pants, but I was still okay.

Sitting on the toilet, I heard the doorbell. Oh…my…goodness. What is going on this morning? Do people have nothing better to do than to torment me this morning? I stood. I wiped. I flushed. I washed my hands. I was going to be a mother, after all. Cleanliness is important. The doorbell had rung at least three times by the time I wrapped Joe's big ugly flannel robe around me and waddled my way down the stairs again.

I was unprepared for what lay beyond my threshold. Mama Morelli and Grandma Bella stood there in all their bundled up glory. Lovely. "Good morning, Honey!" Mom Morelli sang as she squeezed my cheeks and breezed past me into the house. Grandma Bella, glared at me through the slits called her eyes and walked past me without comment. "We wanted to see if you needed anything. We were just on our way to the market." I think Mom Morelli must have just gotten a good look at me right after she said that, because then she said, "Oh, sweetheart, are you not feeling well? You aren't even dressed!"

I tried to manage a smile. I pointed it especially at Grandma Bella who still looked really angry at me for some reason. "I'm fine. Just sleeping late, that's all."

"Wasting my Joseph's money and letting his home fall apart." Grandma Bella growled in her gravely old lady voice. "Look at this place. It's a sty. You should be ashamed of yourself, young lady. I raised seven ungrateful children, had a rotten boozer of a husband, God rest his soul," at this, we all did the obligatory cross sign over ourselves, "and my home was always spotless."

At this, I looked around. The house looked pretty good to me. Dunphy and Mary Lou, well probably Mary Lou, had even dusted while I was gone.

"Now Bella, it's fine. Stephanie doesn't feel like keeping house right now. She'll clean it up after the baby comes." Mom Morelli was placating the old bag. She looked back at me, "Why don't you get dressed and come to the store with us? I still want to teach you to make manicotti and today's a perfect day to do it. We can do it here and I can tidy up your house while it bakes." Her smile was genuine. Mine wasn't.

"Well," I started, but I couldn't think of a good enough excuse fast enough. "Okay, but I need to take a shower first," I mumbled.

"That's fine, Honey. We'll just start cleaning up while you're getting ready." They started removing coats and hats, scarves and gloves. I could see them both melting in size before my very eyes. They looked half as big as they had when they came in once they got their entire winter garb off. Bella had opened the closet door to hang up their coats and I heard her talking about how dirty the closet was. I could imagine that she was going to empty the whole thing and insist on washing Joe's bowling ball before the day was over.

I emerged from the bathroom 45 minutes later, all clean and fluffy and ready for the day's adventure. I found Grandma Bella perched on the top of a step ladder trying to reach the back of the shelf in the coat closet because she said it was terribly dusty. The shelf in the coat closet is dusty? Okay, I'm not going to win this battle. And it's not even worth fighting over.

Joe's mother had stripped down to her slip to avoid getting her dress dirty in my 'filthy kitchen' and was on her knees cleaning my oven. It had to be clean or else the manicotti would not taste good, you see. It's a good thing I'd gotten a pair of rubber gloves for a gag gift at my wedding shower. She looked cute in her sturdy shoes, her matronly slip and my pink rubber gloves, I must admit.

I kept my cool. I went to the refrigerator and got myself a nice cool glass of lemonade and tried to avoid getting my feelings all in a wad over the things they were saying about my house. Finally, Mom Morelli was done with the oven and Grandma Bella came to a good stopping point when she uncovered an old photo album of my first wedding I'd stuck in the coat closet because I didn't know what else to do with it. Well, just seeing it gave her plenty of ammunition for the rest of the day.

"Grandma Bella," I said in my sweetest voice, "you seem upset with me today for some reason. What's going on?"

"I heard you took my grandson's money and went on a vacation last week. You should have been here waiting for his return; not out there doing heaven knows what. I don't think you are doing yourself any good by not keeping the house clean and taking care of things here. What if he decided to come back to you? What impression would this give for him to learn that you are letting things go like this? For goodness sake, look at your hair. You look like little Orphan Annie with all those curls. I think I'll put the eye on you. That would teach you a thing or two."

I bit my tongue. I wanted to tell her that I'd been with Joe in Seattle and yes, we'd done plenty of 'heaven knows what' while there. And Joe likes my curls. Besides, if she gave me the eye, would it hurt the baby?

Mom Morelli saved me by jumping in and saying, "Bella, stop badgering Stephanie. She's a grown woman. She can make her own decisions. Joseph is a grown man and he has chosen Stephanie to be his life's partner. It is important that we support their decision, regardless of what we think of it."

Hmmm. What does that mean, 'regardless of what they think of it?' Did she mean she didn't like that he'd chosen to go on the assignment? Or does she mean that she didn't like the fact that I was his life's partner? Well, I'll just have to think about that a bit. I believe I'll just decide my hormones are acting up again and not get my feelings hurt.

We went to the grocery store in Joe's truck. There was room for all three of us and Bob. I had heard Joe say not to ride with his mother unless I had a death wish. She's one of those little ladies that drives the big old cars and peers between the top of the steering wheel and the dashboard. I couldn't take it today. Bob wasn't letting me out of his sight and he'd cried when I'd tried to leave him at home, so he had to come, too. Grandma Bella rode in the front seat with me. Joe's Mother was in the back seat, and Bob was half and half, with his big furry head between the two front seats and his tail whapping Mom Morelli's face.

By the time we had the manicotti in the oven, I'd made three trips to the grocery store. I'd told her I had some Parmesan cheese. Who knew that you had to buy it in hunks and grate it yourself? I just used the stuff in the green can. I also didn't have the right kind of cheese grater or the correct pan to make it in. It's time consuming and a lot of work. I'm glad Joe's Mother will keep making it for him. I don't intend to do it ever again. I love Joe a lot. I'm sure he will love me whether I can make manicotti or not.

I've blossomed beyond the point of being able to walk for a long period of time on a treadmill, so I am just going to start walking around the track at the gym a few times each day. Dunphy says Joe has promised to start sending notes to me again next week after things settle down there.

Tomorrow is Christmas with the Morelli mob. Can't wait. Yippee.


	28. Chapter 28

Undercover

Chapter 28

I was greeted at Mrs. Morelli's door by a surly Grandma Bella. I could tell she was still harboring thoughts of giving me the eye even though Mom Morelli had cajoled her out of the notion the day before. "Good morning, Grandma Bella, what a lovely dress," I crooned, hoping to get on her better side.

She stuck her bony chin in the air. "This is my Joseph's favorite dress. I thought one of us should be thinking of him today since he isn't here with us, thanks to you." I pasted on my smile and walked stiffly through the warm home to the even warmer kitchen. I was greeted by all the women. Kathy, Mary and Angela immediately came forward to hug and kiss me and, of course, to lay hands on my bulging belly. I truly felt loved and accepted by most of Joe's family, including his mother.

"Stephanie! I'm so happy you are here!" Mrs. Morelli, looking flushed, had her hands full of pies she was removing from the oven. Barbara, Marc's longsuffering wife looked exhausted and harried as she worked on the salad. I always feel sorry for her when I see her. He's such a schmuck.

Around that time, the back door burst open and in poured 'the guys', including Marc, his eldest son, Jeff, 19, his younger son, Don, 15, Tony, Mike (Kathy's husband), Stewart (Mary's husband) and his son Greg, 12. I was dumbstruck when I saw Jeff. He was the spitting image of Joe as a teen. He was dark and brooding, wearing attitude bigger than the state of New Jersey and so handsome he could make a girl's mouth water. Jeff, seeing his grandmother, turned on the charm. This was definitely a male Morelli family trait. They could charm their way into anyone's heart and into most of our pants, as evidenced by the number of children littering the rooms of the house and the yard.

The guys had better things to do than hang around in the kitchen so they blew through pretty quickly, talking sports and snagging bites of the food that was everywhere in the kitchen. The testosterone parade moved through quickly. A few of them stopped to cop a feel and a kiss from their wives and to wave hello to me. Not Tony, of course. He had his eyes glued to the floor. After his little faux pas early in my pregnancy, he was trying not to even make eye contact. Soon, it was just the girls again.

"We always eat first and then let the kids rip into the gifts under the tree when we are finished. When everyone is all done opening presents, we'll do dessert," Mary explained to me. "Of course, now most of the kids are older, so it isn't like we have a bunch of bikes and roller skates anymore. Now it seems to be gift certificates and MP3 players. We're all excited about your new little one bringing in some excitement next year." There were tears shining in her eyes. I was used to it now. As much as she wanted children of her own, I knew she was happy for us.

She lowered her voice. "How's Joe?" She asked. "I've tried to play along but I know he didn't just run off with Terri. You'd be more upset if he had, and besides, he just wouldn't do it. He would never leave you. He's been crazy about you for like 5 years. He just wouldn't do that and certainly not with Terri."

"Don't say anything, Mary. Please?" I wasn't really going to break my promise to Joe, but she already knew. "He called me yesterday. He's fine."

"Will he be here in time for…? You know…?" She had her hands on Joe Jr. and he was kicking like mad.

"I sure hope so." My voice betrayed my fears and quivered. Hold it together, Stephanie.

"Me, too." She said. "I know he will. He'd move heaven and earth to get to you, you know. It will be fine."

"Hey, you two, what secrets are you telling in here? No whispering." It was Marc. He'd come over to the table to get a cookie from the platter in front of me.

"It's nothing, big brother. Stephanie was just giving me tips on how to get pregnant," Mary said with a little cat's smile, obviously trying to get him to butt out.

Marc guffawed, "Oh, give us all a break, Mary. Can we just have one peaceful day without having to hear about how you can't get pregnant? Boo hoo. Get the hell over it." Everyone within hearing range went totally silent and I realized he was drunk. I hadn't noticed it before. I heard Mrs. Morelli let out a long suffering sigh and saw her reach for her apron strings, like she was going to take it off and come handle the situation. Well, I'd heard enough. Leave it to me, hormonal Stephanie, to settle it.

I hauled my pregnant self up out of the chair where I'd landed and I was in his face in a flash. "You SORRY piece of shit. I can't **believe** you said that to her! You are just a cruel son of a bitch, aren't you? You don't deserve to be part of this family. They are good people. They are honorable and loyal and they have stood by each other through everything that life has thrown at them. You, you sorry piece of crap, you can't even stand by your own wife, when your life is wonderful. You have to drag around your little piece of ass you keep on the side and rub her nose in it. I think you are the smallest, most ridiculous excuse for a man I have ever seen." As quickly as I jumped on him, maybe I was just waiting for a chance to tell him off.

He was getting red and he'd balled his fists up. "Oh, this from the stupid bitch who couldn't even keep her husband satisfied for two months. I knew Joe must have been shacking up with Terri on the side because I couldn't see him throwing away that nice piece, but I didn't think you'd drive him completely away."

Well, I was already seeing red, but when I heard the words 'stupid bitch' I went bananas. I started looking around for a weapon. The only thing I saw was the big platter with all the cute little iced Christmas cookies on it. I didn't think I could even lift that huge platter, let alone crack it over his stupid skull. So, I resorted to kneeing him in the nuts. I scored a perfect hit. He went down in a heap.

Satisfied, I sat back down and carefully selected a reindeer cookie off of the platter. I bit my lip instead of the cookie, however. You could hear a pin drop. I kept my head down because I didn't want to see anyone's face. I couldn't believe it – my first Christmas with the Morelli family and I'd just assaulted Marc and screamed about his mistress in front of his wife. It's not at all that she didn't know about Shelly. The family just didn't talk about her in front of Barbara.

Then, I heard someone giggle. Then a couple more of them giggled. Then real laughter broke out when Marc threw up. Of course, I throw up when anyone else does, but I was able to just giggle with the rest of them this time. I stole a quick glance at Barbara to see how she was doing. She wasn't in the room anymore. Marc was muttering and I think he was considering trying to stand back up when Tony and Mike came in and hauled him up and out the back door to 'get some air'. Stewart was comforting Mary, who'd, of course, been devastated at Marc's insult. Mary looked at me over Stew's shoulder and mouthed 'thank you' to me.

I waited for the repercussions from Mrs. Morelli or Grandma Bella. Mom Morelli came over and handed me a cup of hot cocoa and helped herself to a cookie before strolling into the living room to enjoy a few minutes with her grandchildren. I didn't see Bella. Maybe she'd missed the whole thing.

Just as Kathy announced that the meal was almost ready, my cell phone rang in my purse. Stewart handed it to me and I started digging around in the cavernous abyss. It was ridiculous that I carried such a big purse, but I needed so much stuff. Sitting in Mrs. Morelli's breakfast nook, I started unloading it looking for my cell. I pulled out a can of hairspray and a can of defense spray and put them on the table next to the cookie platter. Next, I found a pair of handcuffs and then my gun and then another pair of handcuffs. FINALLY I found the cell phone. "Hello!" I shouted into it, scared I'd missed the call.

Several of the teenagers had gathered around to see the arsenal I'd unloaded from my handbag. I heard one of them whisper that I looked like a fun date.

"Cupcake, what took you so long? I was afraid I was going to miss you." It was such a relief to hear Joe's voice. After having gone so long in the beginning of the assignment, it seemed he was staying in touch more often now and that made me happy.

"Hi!" I said, not wanting to give away to the crowd who it was. "It's so nice to hear your voice."

"Yours too, baby. I miss you so much. Are you at my mom's house?"

"Yeah. I'm here, alright." I said, smiling at the gaggle of curious eyes that were watching me talk to him.

"Anything going on? I wish I was there."

"You and me both. We're getting ready to eat."

"Okay. Can I talk to my Mom for a minute?"

"Sure," I took the phone to Mrs. Morelli.

"MY BABY!" she screamed. "Oh, Joseph, it's so GOOD to hear your voice. We all miss you so much." They chatted for a few minutes. Joe must have asked if anything exciting was going on here. I'd ignored the question when he asked me. She must have felt compelled to rat on me for telling Marc off because she went into her pantry with the telephone and closed the door. Everyone else had been clamoring to speak to Joe, including Bella. Mrs. Morelli wasn't about to share the opportunity to talk to Joe with anyone else, especially his grandma who might tell him off.

She handed the telephone back to me where we said our goodbyes quietly while everyone was putting the food on the table. Of all the people in the world, Joe wanted to talk to me and his mother. I felt so special.

We sat down and Grandma Bella insisted on Marc saying the blessing. He still looked a tiny bit green, but he'd recovered considerably. He was able to send me dirty looks all the way down and across the table. I reciprocated in kind. Just because I am going to be a mother doesn't mean I have to grow up. I was just about ready to stick my tongue out at him when I noticed that Grandma Bella was looking at me. I bowed my head reverently until the prayer was done.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. The gift exchange was loud and chaotic, like most of everything this family does. There were a lot of gag gifts and a lot of inside jokes I didn't get yet. It was still fun. I enjoyed laughing and thinking about how much fun it would have been with Joe here. We'll have a great time next year.

Dessert was an informal affair. There were pies, cakes, homemade candy and those darned cookies. I'd eaten probably 20 of them before and after the meal. Everything was laid out buffet style and everyone just served themselves. It was so hot in the house, and combined with my natural internal combustion from the pregnancy, I was roasting, so I went out to the porch to cool off and eat my pie in peace. I was watching the kids play in the yard, throwing snowballs and running around when someone joined me on the swing. It was Barbara. She was bundled up in her winter coat, with her scarf and gloves. She held a cup of steaming coffee in her hands and put it near her face to feel the heat of the cup.

Barbara usually kept her distance from me. I think she suspected I felt she was a fool to stay with Marc.

"I got warm in the house and wanted to come outside to cool off," I said to her between bites of pie and cookie.

"I came out to talk to you," she shared. "But now that I'm here, I don't know what to say." She was looking at the kids and not at me.

"You could tell me to butt out and to mind my own business," I offered. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you. It's hard for me to see someone hurting someone else and not say something about it."

"What makes you think he's hurting me?" Now she was looking at me.

"Well, I just assumed. I mean, he's been running around on you for years. He spends a lot of money on her and time with her, let alone the fact that he shares so much intimacy with her that he promised to keep only for you. Doesn't that bother you?" I was stunned.

She considered it. "No. I can't say it bothers me anymore. I guess it did at first. Maybe for the first few years when the kids were little, it did. Now…I don't know. He's a known commodity. I know what to expect. He'll spend tonight and New Years Eve with Shelly. Most nights, though, he comes home to our house to sleep. As long as I give him time to shower before I get too close to him, I can even convince myself that things are normal."

I regarded her with disbelieving eyes.

"As for the money, I'm set. I have a good nest egg that I've set aside. If he ever leaves, I'll be fine. We have accounts all ready for the kids' college. The house is paid for. I don't think I even have to worry about it until Mom Morelli dies. He wouldn't face that wrath and I really don't think he'll do it anyway."

"What about you? Don't you think you deserve to have someone who really loves you? I hate that you are settling like that. You are so pretty. You could have such a great life," I said.

"I do have a great life. I have a wonderful family. My husband does love me. Stephanie, wake up. All guys cheat. He still comes home to me. I have friends. I have time to do whatever I want to," she believed all this crap. I could see it in her dead eyes.

"I'm glad you're happy with it. I couldn't be," I whispered.

"You will be. In 20 years, your life will look just like mine. Joe's no saint. All those boys are cut from the same cloth. Ask Angela about Tony. Ask Mom Morelli. They have both suffered a lot more than I have. Like I said, at least I know what to expect. If there's an emergency, I have Shelly's phone number. I can't say we are exactly friends, but we aren't enemies. If I see her in the grocery store, we don't avoid each other anymore. It's just a fact of life. Everyone knows about it. It's not a big ugly secret. Most of us just have the good taste not to talk about it." With this, she stood and gave me one last withering look before going back in the house.

"My life will never be like yours," I said to no one. Joe Morelli, I thought, you'd better get your fine ass back here before your family drives me insane.

I confirmed with Mary Lou that night that she would go with me to start childbirth classes next week so I would be ready for the big day. Joe had a list of books and reference materials he was supposed to use to get himself prepared, too.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

The Christmas Holidays safely behind me, I was feeling lucky. I'd survived, after all. I had given up completely on trying to bring in FTA's given my advanced state of impending motherhood and my increased ability to trip over my own feet, which I couldn't see anyway. I'd also given up on shoes that tied or buckled for the same reason.

It was the day before New Year's Eve. I was working the desk at the bail bond office while Connie was on a vacation. Funny that; Dunphy was on vacation, too. They both insisted that nothing was going on between them, but I had my suspicions. Dunphy had a big hickey on his neck when he'd dropped by to check on me before leaving town and he was even more quiet than usual when I teased him about it. It's fun to watch a great big guy like that blush.

The office was pretty quiet. The criminals were taking some time off before hitting the New Year with a bang. Vinnie was taking some time off, too, so it was really just me, Lula and Bob. We had eaten donuts for breakfast, barbequed ribs for a mid-morning snack, and had cleaned out Connie's emergency stash of crackers, Oreo's and croutons. It was almost time for lunch.

Lula doesn't do FTA work without a partner, so basically, Vinnie's skips were enjoying a free ride for a few weeks until we could find someone else to pick them up. Therefore, the stack of files was getting out of control. The entire top of Connie's desk was stacked at least 6 inches deep with them.

My cell phone rang, but I couldn't bend over far enough to pick up my handbag off of the floor, so it went to voicemail. It was really Lula's fault I didn't get to the phone. She could have picked it up for me, but she was just returning with three soft-serve ice cream cones with sprinkles so her hands were full.

When I checked my messages, I heard, "Stephanie, this is Carmine Salinas. I need to talk to you. I'll try your house." Carmine was a 'ho. I'd brought her in several times. She was a good 'ho apparently, but not good at avoiding arrest or appearing in court without my assistance. She was using a sing-song voice on the message like she was happy. I knew for a fact that she was FTA because I'd seen her file in one of the stacks. I was a little taken aback. When an FTA comes to me instead of waiting for me to find them, there is usually a bizarre circumstance behind it. She hadn't left a number to call her back, but I knew where to find her. She'd worked the corner at 9th and Commerce for the past couple of years.

Lula, Bob and I finished our ice cream and started browsing through the take-out menus in Connie's desk. Bob seemed partial to the Kung Pow Inn – that is, he ate their menu. Lula and I agreed Chinese sounded yummy, so we locked up the office and piled into her red Firebird. Carmine's corner was conveniently located on the way.

When we pulled up, Carmine was getting out of Bennie Raguza's 1978 Omni (complete with authentic woodgrain trim and rooftop luggage rack). She looked a bit disheveled, like she'd maybe earned her money recently. Nonetheless, she seemed happy to see me. "Stephanie!" She practically purred, while digging in her bag for her compact. She definitely could use a little touch up, since her lipstick was smeared from her chin to her eyebrows.

"Hey, Carmine. Got your message. Don't suppose you'd like to take a ride with us downtown?" A girl has to try, I thought. Fat chance I could make her come with me since I had indigestion on top of a bulge the size of a basketball. There wasn't a chance I could even run after her.

"Not today, but I was going to tell you that tomorrow would work great for me. I need some time off – you know, the holidays are hell. All these 'happily married' guys that took time off to spend with the family are killing me." She was flossing her teeth while she talked to us. I really didn't want to know why. I didn't think she was worried about broccoli from the salad bar being stuck in there. She continued, "With married guys, it's blowjob, blowjob, blowjob. I'll tell you, when a woman gets married, I guess she never has to give a blowjob again. These guys all act like they haven't had one in years."

Since I was the only married one in our threesome, Lula and Carmine both just looked at me.

"Yeah," Lula chimed in. "I remember that. There were a couple of years that I had jaw muscles the size of oranges by the end of the holiday break. I looked like a squirrel that had hit the walnut jackpot."

I thought it was time to change the subject. "Carmine, how can I help you?" I immediately thought about how that sounded, given our topic of conversation, and started to amend my offer but Carmine jumped in.

"Can you meet me tomorrow morning about 9? We can meet at The Pleasure Palace." She motioned across the street with her chin.

"Why not just right here?" Lula asked, "Who wants to go to an adult toystore at 9 in the morning?"

Carmine gave Lula a meaningful look, but I didn't know what the meaning was.

"I'll be over there. If you want me to go in, meet me there," she said. She bent at the waist and wiggled her boobs back up into the neckline of her blouse. They had migrated South during her earlier appointment, apparently. A quick fluff of her navy-black hair completed her look. She was back in business just in time apparently. A car with three guys in it pulled to the curb. She went to the window to negotiate but returned a minute later after they pulled away. "Too bad you two don't work the streets. They wanted a three-fer. We could have made some good cash and even gotten a bonus if the dog was available."

Lula, Bob and I had lunch and closed the office a little early because we all needed naps.

The next morning, I moved slowly. I showered, I dried everything I could reach. I fluffed my hair, I put on 3 layers of mascara. I hadn't been to the police station in a couple of months and didn't want the guys to think that Joe's wife was slacking just because I had gained 1000 pounds of baby weight. I didn't need to do Carmine's boob-manuever. My cleavage went all the way to my chin. I know Joe would be upset that he'd missed the opportunity to play with these big-boys.

Joe. I hadn't heard from him, even via Dunphy messenger, for a week. He must be busy. I gave a big sigh and let Bob out to tinkle.

My mother called. I saw her name on the caller ID. When I answered, she said, "Are you up? You don't want to be late this morning."

"What do you mean? Late for work? There's not much going on there. Since we haven't been able to recover any skips, Vinnie is at the limit on his ability to write bond. The insurance company that underwrites him has cut him off. When he gets back from vacation, he's going to have to go FTA hunting himself just to get back in business. Work's not exactly pressing right now."

"Oh, well, uh…hmmm, I just meant that you probably have somewhere you need to be, right? I mean, you are always busy doing something." She sounded weird.

"Well, yeah, I mean, I'm going to pick up a skip who promised to go in this morning at nine. I guess I need to get on the road."

"Alright. Bye, now."

I let Bob in, locked the back door and went with Bob through to the front of the house. We climbed in Joe's SUV. I've been driving it almost exclusively since I got back from my last trip to see him. Even though I had to climb up to get into it, it was easier to get out of than my car. Gravity assisted my exit from the SUV. I could just stick my legs out the door and wiggle a little and I would fall to my feet. The truck smelled of fast food, cold coffee, and Bob. I'm not the best at keeping a car clean. I'm more the type to throw the trash into the back seat until it's full or until I total the vehicle, whatever comes first.

I swung by to pick up Lula, and we pulled up in the Pleasure Palace lot at 9:05. No Carmine. "Do you think she's inside?" I asked.

Lula was looking around the lot. "Do you think it's sort of funny that the parking lot is full at 9 in the morning at an adult toystore? I think I smell something fishy."

"Maybe they are having a booksigning or something. I think they sell a lot of books here." I answered.

"No, I mean, I really smell something fishy. What has Bob been eating lately? It smells like a fishery in this car."

"Well," I chewed my lip. "Bob and I have eaten at Long John Silver's a lot lately. It's probably just residual smell…."

We got out, leaving the windows down, and went into the Pleasure Palace Adult Toy Emporium and Bookstore. The place was deserted. I called out, "Hello?"

"Back here!" called a voice.

"I'm not sure I want to go back there," said Lula. "Back there doesn't sound too appealing to me in an adult toystore. Well, maybe that's where they keep all the working vibrators – you know, the ones connected to the electricity… Do you wanna go back there?" She looked at me.

"I want to find Carmine and get out of here." I hitched my shoulderbag up to boost my confidence and headed 'back there'.

As I rounded the corner, everyone yelled, "SURPRISE!" There had to be 30 of them. It was like 'whos-who' among Trenton flesh peddlers back here. There were helium filled condoms of every color tied to the ends of a table for decoration, and everyone was wearing colorful plastic Hawaiian leis. There was a big penis-shaped cake in the middle of the table that said "Careful! It's loaded."

"Surprise, Stephanie!" said Carmine as she dropped a lei around my neck. "We all decided we needed some time off so we're giving you a baby shower, only there's no gifts, but we'll all go in and get rebonded, so you'll be able to make a buttload of money and never break a sweat."

Tony, "aka The Tongue", was manning a margarita machine and there was a DJ. There was a limbo pole set up, too, but nobody was doing the limbo yet. However, for 9 o'clock in the morning, I must say that this was a lively crowd and they were enjoying the themselves. There seemed to be an educational seminar going on at one end of the room as one of the ladies of the evening (morning?) was demonstrating some technique on her very happy boss, while others were making comments on how she might speed up, um, the conclusion of the program…

"Well, isn't this nice? Who knew that the Pleasure Palace had a party room?" Uh-oh, I know that voice. I turned around to see my Grandma Mazur coming around the corner in her best dress. My mother and sister were behind her with absolutely horrified looks on their faces. They were frozen in place. Carmine explained that a shower just wasn't a shower without the mother's family there. Oh, boy. We may need family counseling after this one…

"Well, Carmine, thank you." I raised my voice, "Hello everyone! Thanks for coming in this morning. Anyone want to volunteer for the first round? Obviously, you can't all get in my car at once."

I had two takers. These two women were relatively new to the 'ho' trade and looked relatively fresh. They explained that if they got done early, they could still make a couple of house calls before the day was through. Who knew ho's made house calls?

Carmine had contacted Vinnie, who was thrilled to get the pipes unclogged (and probably got his own personal pipes unclogged at the same time) so he met up with us to write the bond and we were back at the Pleasure Palace in no time.

By the time I got back, my mother and my sister had left, but Grandma was doing the limbo.

All in all, there were 22 ho's, 4 boyz, as I learned they called themselves, 2 pimps, and 3 'undetermined's…because I didn't have a clue who would buy anything they may be selling. Yikes.

The day ranged from the humorous moments (telling the guys at the police station what was going on) to the truly horrifying (seeing Grandma Mazur doing jello shots with Tommy The Tongue). All in all, however, I had to admit that it was a clever idea. The working girls and guys got the day off; Vinnie got his roster almost fully cleared with no struggles whatsoever; I waddled away with enough cash to completely eliminate the last of my debt and to pay back a lot of what I'd borrowed from Joe's reserve; and Bob and Grandma Mazur both made a lot of new friends.

When I crashed into bed that night, my feet were swollen, my hips hurt from walking and I was exhausted, but I felt accomplished and even a little bit accepted. I guess I can count a lot of cops among my friends, and some folks from the other side of the law as well.

It's good to have friends. You never know when you'll need them.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Vignettes On Pregnancy

Each of the following scenes took place during the month of January or early February. They are listed here in no particular order…

**Words of Italian wisdom from my mother in law.**

"I can't understand what you are saying," Joe's mother said into the telephone. "Are you trying to eat and talk at the same time?"

"Gno." I croaked. "I tkink I habe a code." I coughed again and sneezed twice. "De docktorr saids I can'dt takke adythink for it."

"Oh, you have a little cold. Poor thing. I'm sorry you'll miss Sunday dinner with the family. You know, you'll appreciate the baby even more when he finally comes since you've had to suffer with a cold."

**Communication from Joe**

"No, you don't look like a big duck waddling around the track. You just look like a pregnant lady getting a little exercise on the track. Exercise is good for you and for my God Son." Dunphy instructed. He was pretty proud that we'd asked him to be Joe Jr.'s Godfather and tried to wedge it into every conversation.

"Okay," I huffed, "Can I have my note now?"

"You've only been around the track once. Give me two more laps and you can have your note," Dunphy grinned.

The notes from Joe have become sporadic and Dunphy calls me to come to the gym for a walk on the track to pick it up. Joe indicates that they are 'very close' to wrapping things up, that he is 'very close' to coming home and that he is 'very close' to killing Teri Gilman and hiding the body. 'Yeah,' I thought, 'you and me both, buddy.' However, each note is still signed with 'Love, Joe' and I want them bad enough to walk without complaint. Oh, okay, without a whole lot of complaint. Geez.

**The Diet **

"What do you mean you are only eating Jelly Beans?" Connie and Lula were watching me curiously. I was sitting behind Connie's desk, with my swollen feet propped on the open file drawer and a big bowl of jelly beans in my lap.

"Even drinking water gives me heartburn, anymore. Since I have to eat, I'm going to eat what I want to eat. I've gone on a strict diet. I am eating only jelly beans." I said. "You can get almost any flavor you want in jelly beans. Want some root beer? Here! Have some root beer jelly beans," I illustrated my point by digging through my bowl and coming up with the reddish brown ones. "Want some watermelon? – There's jelly beans for that." I showed them the little pink ones. "Buttered Popcorn, you say? – Yes, there really are popcorn flavored jelly beans – they are white with yellow splotches. Jalapeno! Sure, there are jalapeno flavored jelly beans! See, they are these two toned green ones."

Connie and Lula just looked at each other in wide eyed amazement, mouths open. I continued, "My favorite is the combinations you can make. For 'Steph's Surprise' - you take two caramel apple jelly beans, three buttered popcorn jelly beans, one peanut butter and one sizzling cinnamon jelly bean and stuff them all in your mouth at once. It's best if you can follow them with an orange juice chaser. Do NOT drink lemonade with it unless you enjoy feeling your jaw seize up. Done right, however, it's an amazing taste combination." (CAUTION: Be careful to be sure to use the sizzling cinnamon – not the regular cinnamon – or the entire thing is ruined.)

"My second favorite is chocolate pudding jelly beans and cantaloupe jelly beans mixed two to one. I had to stop and buy more this morning because I was down to a bunch of margarita flavored ones left over from my bachelorette party last year. I've been licking salt off of my hand and popping them quickly into my mouth but it's just not the same," I said.

Lula offered, "You should write a recipe book for jelly bean lovers. Everyone likes recipe books and they sell like crazy. You'll make a million bucks."

Connie scrunched up her nose, "I think the jelly bean diet is gross. You are going to end up in a sugar coma anytime now."

I'd look forward to that, actually, since I can't get comfortable enough to really go to sleep anymore. Also, my mother is very concerned that I can't get full nutritional value from jelly beans alone. Therefore, I may start to supplement with bacon, cooked to a crisp.

**Hygiene and Housekeeping**

"Bob," I said, "I think I'm going to have to do some laundry." We could barely get into the bedroom. I'd stopped doing laundry after my tummy started growing. I mean, why wash something that has now become too small for you to wear? I couldn't even wear Joe's sweats and t-shirts anymore because my belly was too big. However, I've been taking my dirty maternity clothes over to my mom's house when I go and she's been washing them for me.

"I think I'll also have to wash my 'Joe' scented t-shirt I have stretched over my pillow. It really smells more like you now than like Joe anyway." Bob didn't have anything to say. He just seemed happy that he wasn't in line for a bath.

We made a party of it. I had Mary Lou help me haul all of the laundry down into the basement, along with a radio and Rex's cage. We did laundry all day that day and talked about babies, sex, and families. You know, girl stuff.

**Doctor Hands**

My doctor's appointments have escalated to once a week at this point. Everything is going great except that I seem to be experiencing high blood pressure periodically. He said something about becoming Toxic or something like that, but I think he's over-reacting because my mother blabbed to him about the jelly bean thing.

Doctor Hands says that Joe Jr. is doing fine and he will be a big, healthy, boy. He projects him to weigh at least 8 pounds. That sounds big for a baby, but then I saw a woman bringing in her newborn for her followup and she said he was 8 pounds and he seemed teeny tiny.

It is terrifying to me that they are just going to wrap this new baby up in a little blue blanket and then hand him over to me and send me home with him. Then what? Boy, I really hope Joe is home by then. Everyone, it seems, has offered to come home with me when the baby comes if Joe isn't here. He will be. I just know he will be.

**Childbirth classes**

Mary Lou and I finished the last session of childbirth classes last week. They showed videos that night. The teacher (Donna Babitzke, who is at least 10 years younger than me and 15 pounds lighter than my pre-pregnancy weight) was frightening. She would cover all these horrifying incidents that have happened to people and then just smile and say, 'but after all that, their baby was born perfect and they lived happily ever after.' Of course, Mary Lou has children and so does my sister. I've been around (at arm's length) when they were each having their babies and from what I remember, things went very well. At least from my side of the curtain, they went great.

It is a little daunting, however, when someone you know tells you the horrific childbirth story (you know the one: 40 hours in labor, breech presentation, emergency cesarean, snowbound in a cabin) but then smiles at you like the Virgin Mary and says, 'but as soon as I had the little angel in my arms, I forgot all about the pain and fear'. Valerie and Mary Lou both say that is a bunch of crap. They remember every, single pain they suffered and bring them up liberally when their kids are acting like brats.

**Preparing for Baby**

I spent time one weekend with my mom and Grandma Mazur going to Target and Toys R Us and doing the baby registration thing. That's fun. We got to just pick everything that looked cute and scan it in on this cool little hand-held scanner so that people knew what we wanted for the baby shower. We ran into Mooner, too. Between he and Grandma, we ended up scanning some questionable material at Target, but we'll see what happens.

I remembered Joe's definition of a Super Hero and we avoided anything resembling Batman stuff. We found some really cute little Super Man and Spider Man PJ's and onesies as well as sheets, curtains, and towels. Mooner got himself some Spiderman PJ's, too. I think he's worn them every day since then. I went back later and picked up Joe some in the Super Man motif, but that's a whole other story – let's just say I don't intend for him to wear them to sleep in.

**Grandma's New Job**

"I am tired of just staying at home and going to the beauty parlor and to the funeral home. I've decided I'm going into business doing commercials as a spokesperson for a local small businessman," Grandma Mazur announced over dinner at my parent's house one evening.

My father's eyes never left his plate. My mother looked up in dignified horror. My sister Valerie just grimaced. I finally bit. "Grandma, who are you going to represent?"

"I'll show you." She said, leaving the table, spindly little legs dancing from the room in a happy little pattern.

"Okay," my mother said to the rest of us, "your grandmother is just trying to regain some independence. Let's try to support her in her decision. Remember how cute some little old ladies can be when they do commercials. Maybe it's for hearing aids or a doctor's office or something."

Grandma Mazur came back into the room wearing red hotpants, a red cowboy hat and a bright yellow T shirt with red sparkly glittering letters that read, "Big Dave's Muffler Repair and Titty City".

"How nice." Valerie replied in her most supportive voice. "I like the red, Grandma. It brings out the color in your eyes."

**The Baby Shower**

Today is February 12th. I'm due to pop in 2 weeks – on February 26th. My baby shower, hosted by Lula, Connie, Mary Lou, Teri Gilman's mother, several of my mother's friends, Joe's God-mother, and some of Joe's mother's friends, will be this afternoon. I can't wait. All the new baby clothes and stuff will take my mind off Joe, maybe.

Unfortunately my nose has exploded overnight. Have you ever seen anyone whose nose took on the characteristics of the pregnancy? You know what I mean? Overnight my nose expanded in size about 400. No kidding. Each nostril looks fully capable of housing a Land Rover.

Mom Morelli is coming to pick me up in 15 minutes and I can't figure out how to minimize my huge nose with makeup. I know how to cover bags, wrinkles and zits, extra large noses are a new thing for me. Of course, she's early.

"Hello! Come in. I'm almost ready," I said. Grandma Bella didn't exactly look happy to be here. But she never seems really happy. Mom Morelli hugged me tight and kissed me right on the end of my huge proboscis.

"Bundle up warm, honey, it's cold out there!" She said. "Oh, Bob's not going to the shower, is he?" Bob had gone to the door with us. He really hates to be left at home alone and he's been my boon companion for the past several months.

"No," I answered, "my Dad is going to babysit. He's at home, so we just have to drop Bob off on the way to the shower."

"Oh, good. I was afraid he'd eat the petit fours and drink the punch if we weren't careful." She said, petting him affectionately.

"He would. That's why he can't come." I gave him a look. He sort of hung his big shaggy head. He'd eaten my sandwich last night, after he'd finished his own.

We loaded up in Mrs. Morelli's Buick and set off for a big day of adventure. We dropped Bob off at Grandpa Frank's Daycare where my sister's 3 kids were, along with her husband who also needed a sitter in my opinion. Valerie and I had agreed to disagree on the fact that I wouldn't 'face facts' and divorce Joe. Albert, her husband, never failed to let me know the paperwork was all ready and all it needed was a signature and a date.

Sentiment in the Burg was divided. Those who really knew Joe well knew there was something going on behind the scenes. This included most of his family (his brothers notwithstanding) and those involved in law enforcement. These people were quietly supportive, withholding speculation and conjecture.

The local busybodies, of which there were many, had spun the story into epic proportion, expecting me to be checked into the funny farm any day because my grasp on reality had such a serious flaw in it. They felt so terribly sorry for me. These ladies were people who were mostly my mother's age and never missed an opportunity to tell me how sorry they were that 'things turned out this way'.

The shower was a good mix of these two groups and should prove to be fun anyway. There were already a lot of people there when we arrived. The shower, to my surprise, was held at the Grizolli mansion. I guessed this is where Terri grew up. But, no, I don't think her family came into a lot of money until we were grown, or at least in high school. The home was beautiful and the shower decorations were first class. There were lots of flowers, ribbons, bows and beautiful wrappings. No crape paper honeycomb baby rattles hanging from the crystal chandelier in this joint.

I was presented with the traditional corsage made of lacy baby booties, but it also had a few of my favorite fire and ice roses in it – a gift from Joe, Terri's mom told me privately, with a wink. At first it surprised me, but of course she'd know what was going on. Terri was there too.

The gift from the hostesses was a wonderful stroller and high chair. They were set up in the corner next to the chair where I was told to sit and open presents. Mary Lou sat next to me to write down the gifts on a tablet so I could use it to help with thank you notes and so it could later be transcribed into the baby book. After a million pictures around a lovely serving table, we got down to business.

My mother is our family's 'appropriate behavior police'. She's the one who will let you know if you have created a social faux pas. I wore a light coral colored maternity dress with a winter white jacket and matching shoes. Valerie had picked them out for me, so I knew I was dressed okay. I balanced a plate of petit fours, nuts and handmade mints on my belly until I caught my mother giving me the evil eye. I carefully moved the plate to the table next to the chair where I was sitting and I sat up straight. Grandma Mazur was passing out business cards for Dave's but Mother caught her and hid her stash.

I felt like I had opened gifts for 2 days, but it was, I guess, only a couple of hours, because I was safely deposited back at my nice, quiet, little house by dark. Mom Morelli had stayed to help clean up, so Lula had brought me home. I was exhausted. Let's just say that getting into Lula's Firebird was a lot easier than getting out of it. She finally got her legs over the console from the driver's side and launched me out with her feet on my rear end. "Are you sure you don't need me to come in?" She said.

"No. I'm just going to go in and crash on the sofa. My Mom and Dad are coming later with Valerie and Albert to deliver the gifts and Bob. They'll bring dinner, I'm sure. Until then, I just plan to sleep." I said as I unlocked the door and swept inside.

"Okay, call me if you need anything." She called, with a wave of her hand as she headed back to her car.

I went into the quiet house. It was almost eerie without Bob. Things are never really still when he's in the house. I went to the kitchen to see Rex spinning on his wheel. I thought it was unusual to see him up so early, but he comes out at all different times. I realized that I'd left the milk out on the counter, too. I hate it when I do things like that. I started to pour it down the drain, but it still felt pretty cold.

My heart sped up. I tossed my jacket on a chair and I raced up the stairs.

Joe.

He was sound asleep on our bed. He was still wearing his jacket, and even his shoes. He was on his belly. His hair was long, curled around his ears, and over the collar of his jacket.

I was afraid to wake him up. Afraid it was all a dream. I walked slowly to the foot of the bed, and then just crawled up beside him. His beautiful dark brown eyes fluttered open and a big grin lit his face. "Hey, Cupcake. I'm home."


End file.
